Shloka 32
मातापितृपूजन-प्रधानधर्मः (Primacy of Filial Service) — Mārkaṇḍeya’s Account of the Vyādha’s Instruction
ददाह भरतश्रेष्ठ सर्वलोकभवाय वै | सो<स्त्रेण दग्ध्वा राजर्षि: कुवलाश्वञो महासुरम्
dadāha bharataśreṣṭha sarvalokabhavāya vai | so 'streṇa dagdhvā rājarṣiḥ kuvalāśvo mahāsuram ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “O best of the Bharatas, for the welfare of all the worlds, the royal sage Kuvalāśva burned that great Asura; having scorched him with his weapon, he removed the menace that threatened the common good.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the king’s violent act as dharmic when undertaken for sarvaloka-bhava—universal welfare. Power and weapons are ethically justified only when used to remove a grave threat and restore order, not for personal gain.
Mārkaṇḍeya recounts how the royal sage Kuvalāśva destroyed a formidable Asura by means of an astra. The act is presented as a protective deed performed for the good of all worlds.