Shloka 16
Vṛtra’s Cosmic Threat, Viṣṇu’s Upāya, and the Conditional Vulnerability
Udyoga-parva 10
ग्रसन््तमिव लोकांस्त्रीन् सूर्याचन्द्रमसौ यथा । ददृशुस्ते ततो वृत्रं शक्रेण सह देवता:,समस्त महाबली देवता जब वृत्रासुरके समीप आये, तब वह अपने तेजसे प्रज्वलित होकर दसों दिशाओंको तपा रहा था, मानो सूर्य और चन्द्रमा अपना प्रकाश बिखेर रहे हों। इन्द्रके साथ सम्पूर्ण देवताओंने वृत्रासुरको देखा। वह ऐसा जान पड़ता था, मानो तीनों लोकोंको अपना ग्रास बना लेगा
grasann iva lokāṁs trīn sūryācandramasau yathā | dadṛśus te tato vṛtraṁ śakreṇa saha devatāḥ ||
Śalya dijo: «Entonces los dioses, junto con Śakra (Indra), contemplaron a Vṛtra: ardía con fiera radiancia y abrasaba las diez direcciones; parecía como si fuera a engullir los tres mundos, como el sol y la luna al derramar su luz.»
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how unchecked might can appear world-devouring, and it frames resistance to such a force as the safeguarding of cosmic balance. It suggests an ethical lens where the defense of order (loka-saṁgraha) becomes a duty when existence itself seems imperiled.
Śalya describes the moment when Indra and the assembled gods approach and behold Vṛtra. Vṛtra is depicted as radiating intense brilliance, scorching all directions, and seeming capable of consuming the three worlds—an image meant to convey his terrifying magnitude and the stakes of the confrontation.