Shloka 356
Vṛddha-kanyā-carita and Balarāma’s Kurukṣetra Inquiry (वृद्धकन्या-चरितम् / कुरुक्षेत्रफल-प्रश्नः)
दैत्यदानववीराणां जघान नवतीर्नव । भरतनन्दन! ब्रह्मतेजसे प्रकट हुए उस वज्रको मन्त्रोच्चारणके साथ अत्यन्त क्रोधपूर्वक छोड़कर भगवान् इन्द्रने आठ सौ दस दैत्य-दानव वीरोंका वध कर डाला
daityadānavavīrāṇāṃ jaghāna navatīr nava | bharatanandana! brahmatejase prakaṭaḥ sa vajraḥ mantroccāraṇena saha atyanta-krodhapūrvakaṃ tyaktvā bhagavān indraḥ aṣṭaśata-daśa daitya-dānava-vīrān vadhaṃ cakāra |
Vaiśampāyana dijo: ¡Oh deleite de los Bharatas! Indra—tras hacer manifiesto aquel rayo (vajra) surgido del resplandor del Brahman, y arrojándolo con recitación de mantras en feroz ira—dio muerte a los campeones daityas y dānavas: noventa y nueve, y luego ochocientos diez más. El pasaje subraya que un poder abrumador, aun santificado por la fuerza sagrada y la palabra ritual, queda cargado de tensión ética cuando nace de la cólera y se desata en la guerra.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension in warfare: even divinely empowered action (brahma-tejas, mantra) becomes ethically fraught when propelled by krodha (wrath). Sacred power does not automatically sanctify violence; intention and emotional impulse remain central to dharmic evaluation.
Vaiśampāyana recounts Indra manifesting and hurling his vajra with mantra-recitation, and in that onslaught many Daitya and Dānava warriors are slain—first ninety-nine, then eight hundred and ten—emphasizing the devastating efficacy of the divine weapon.