Shloka 18
देव–विष्णु–संवादः । कालेयगणस्य समुद्राश्रयः । अगस्त्योपसर्पणम्
Devas and Viṣṇu on the Kāleyas; Approach to Agastya
तैस्त्रास्यमानास्त्रिदशै: समेतैः समुद्रमेवाविविशुर्भयार्ता: । प्रविश्य चैवोदधिमप्रमेयं झषाकुलं नक्रसमाकुलं च,संगठित देवताओंद्वारा त्रास दिये जानेपर वे सब दैत्य भयसे आतुर हो समुद्रमें ही प्रवेश कर गये। मत्स्यों और मगरोंसे भरे हुए उस अपार महासागरमें प्रविष्ट हो वे सम्पूर्ण दानव तीनों लोकोंका नाश करनेके लिये बड़े गर्वसे एक साथ मन्त्रणा करने लगे। उनमेंसे कुछ दैत्य जो अपनी बुद्धिके निश्चयको स्पष्टरूपसे जाननेवाले थे; (जगत्के विनाशके लिये) उपयोगी विभिन्न उपायोंका वर्णन करने लगे
tais trāsyamānās tridaśaiḥ sametaiḥ samudram evāviviśur bhayārtāḥ | praviśya caivodadhim aprameyaṃ jhaṣākulaṃ nakrasamākulaṃ ca ||
Harried by the assembled gods, the daityas—stricken with fear—fled and entered the ocean itself. Having plunged into that immeasurable sea, teeming with fish and crowded with crocodiles, they gathered together and began to deliberate with arrogant resolve on means to bring ruin upon the three worlds; some among them, clear in their own judgment, proposed various stratagems they deemed fit for the destruction of the cosmos.
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts divine guardianship of cosmic order with demonic pride: even when driven by fear, the daityas do not turn toward restraint or reconciliation but regroup to plan harm to the worlds, illustrating how adharma persists when arrogance governs counsel.
The gods, gathered together, terrify the daityas, who flee into the vast ocean. There, amid fish and crocodiles, the daityas assemble and begin strategizing—boastfully—about methods to destroy the three worlds.