Shloka 20
अग्निस्तुति, इन्द्रदर्शन, नहुष-भयवर्णन
Agni-hymn, discovery of Indra, and the Nahuṣa threat
कि कार्यमवशिष्टं वो हतस्त्वाष्टो महासुर: । वृत्रश्न सुमहाकायो यो वै लोकाननाशयत्,“ब्रह्मन्! त्वष्टाका पुत्र विशालकाय महासुर वृत्र, जो सम्पूर्ण लोकोंका विनाश कर रहा था, मेरे द्वारा मारा गया; अब आपलोगोंका कौन-सा बचा हुआ कार्य करूँ?”
ki k01ryam avabia va hatas tvao mah01sura | vtrana sumah01k01yo yo vai lok01n an01bayat ||
Shalya said: “What task of yours still remains? I have slain that great Asura Vṛtra, the mighty-bodied son of Tvaṣṭṛ, Indra’s formidable foe, who was bringing ruin upon the worlds. O Brahman, what further service is left for me to do for you?”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames heroism as service: after removing a grave threat to the worlds, the speaker asks what duty remains. It highlights the ethical ideal that strength should be directed toward protecting order and fulfilling assigned responsibility, not merely toward personal glory.
Shalya addresses a Brahman-like interlocutor and claims he has already accomplished a decisive featslaying the gigantic Asura Vtra who was destroying the worldsand then asks what further task is still expected of him.