Shloka 17

Kāmyake Pāṇḍavānāṃ Bhojana-vyavasthā

Provisioning and Welfare in the Kāmyaka Forest

Devanagari script

पातालवासिनो रौद्रा दनो: पुत्रा महाबला: | सर्वदेवनिकाया हि नाल॑ योधयितुं हि तान्‌,“वे महाबली भयंकर दानव पातालमें निवास करते हैं। सम्पूर्ण देवता मिलकर भी उनके साथ युद्ध नहीं कर सकते। इस समय भूतलपर जिनका अवतार हुआ है वे श्रीमान्‌ मधुसूदन विष्णु ही कपिल नामसे प्रसिद्ध देवता हुए हैं। वे ही भगवान्‌ अपराजित हरि हैं

Transliteration

pātālavāsino raudrā danoḥ putrā mahābalāḥ | sarvadevanikāyā hi na alaṁ yodhayituṁ hi tān |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Fierce and terrible, the mighty sons of Danu dwell in Pātāla. Indeed, even the entire host of the gods together is not sufficient to wage war against them.”

Word by Word

• {'pātālavāsinaḥ': 'dwellers in Pātāla (the netherworld)', 'raudrāḥ': 'fierce, wrathful, dreadful in aspect', 'danoḥ putrāḥ': 'sons/offspring of Danu

• Dānavas (a class of anti-gods/demons)', 'mahābalāḥ': 'very powerful, of great strength', 'sarva-deva-nikāyāḥ': 'the entire assemblage/host of gods', 'hi': 'indeed, for', 'na alam': 'not sufficient, not capable', 'yodhayitum': 'to fight, to wage war (against)', 'tān': 'them'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Danu
• Dānavas (sons of Danu)
• Pātāla
• Devas (host of gods)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the vast scale of cosmic power: some adversarial forces (the Dānavas of Pātāla) are portrayed as so formidable that even the collective gods are inadequate against them, implying that victory in such conflicts depends on a higher, decisive divine agency rather than mere numbers.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes the terrifying strength of the Dānavas—offspring of Danu—who reside in the netherworld (Pātāla), emphasizing that even the full assembly of gods cannot successfully engage them in battle.