Shloka 31
मातापितृपूजन-प्रधानधर्मः (Primacy of Filial Service) — Mārkaṇḍeya’s Account of the Vyādha’s Instruction
ब्रह्मास्त्रेण च राजेन्द्र दैत्यं क्रूरपराक्रमम्,सुरशत्रुममित्रघ्न॑ त्रैलोक्येश इवापर: । राजेन्द्र! भरतश्रेष्ठ! तत्पश्चात् सम्पूर्ण लोकोंके कल्याणके लिये राजर्षि कुवलाश्वने ब्रह्मास्त्रका प्रयोग करके उस क्रूर पराक्रमी दैत्य धुन्धुको दग्ध कर दिया। इस प्रकार ब्रह्मास्त्रद्वारा शत्रुनाशक, देववैरी महान् असुर धुन्धुको दग्ध करके राजा कुवलाश्च दूसरे इन्द्रकी भाँति शोभा पाने लगे
brahmāstreṇa ca rājendra daityaṁ krūraparākramam | suraśatrum amitraghna trailokyeśa ivāparaḥ ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “O king, with the Brahmā-weapon (Brahmāstra) he struck down that demon of ruthless might—an enemy of the gods and a destroyer of foes. Having burned him up for the complete welfare of the worlds, King Kuvalāśva shone like a second lord of the three worlds.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
A righteous king may employ extraordinary power only for loka-kalyāṇa (the welfare of all beings). The verse frames the act of destruction not as personal vengeance but as restoring cosmic and social order by removing a threat to the worlds and the gods.
Mārkaṇḍeya narrates how King Kuvalāśva uses the Brahmāstra to burn and destroy the fierce demon Dhundhu, described as an enemy of the gods. After this world-protecting deed, the king is praised as shining like a second ruler of the three worlds.