Shloka 21
Kāleya-Āśrama-Vināśaḥ — The Kāleyas’ nocturnal raids and the devas’ supplication to Nārāyaṇa
ततो दधीच: परमप्रतीत: सुरोत्तमांस्तानिदम भ्युवाच । करोमि यद् वो हितमद्य देवा: स्वं चापि देहं स्वयमुत्सूजामि,तब महर्षि दधीचने अत्यन्त प्रसन्न होकर उन श्रेष्ठ देवताओंसे इस प्रकार कहा --देवगण! आज मैं वही करूँगा, जिससे आपलोगोंका हित हो। अपने इस शरीरको मैं स्वयं ही त्याग देता हूँ!
tato dadhīcaḥ paramapratītaḥ surottamāṁs tān idam abhyuvāca | karomi yad vo hitam adya devāḥ svaṁ cāpi dehaṁ svayam utsṛjāmi ||
Then the sage Dadhīca, filled with deep satisfaction, addressed those foremost of the gods: “O gods, today I will do what is for your welfare. I shall myself relinquish this very body of mine.”
लोगमश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma expressed as selfless giving: when the welfare of many (the gods and, by extension, the world-order they protect) is at stake, a righteous person may renounce even what is most dear—one’s own body—without hesitation, motivated by clarity and goodwill rather than compulsion.
Lomaśa recounts how the sage Dadhīca, pleased and resolute, speaks to the assembled gods and agrees to act for their benefit by voluntarily relinquishing his body—an act that enables the gods’ purpose (traditionally, the making of a powerful weapon from his bones).