Shloka 53
इन्द्रस्य दुःखप्राप्तिः—त्रिशिरोवधः, वृत्रोत्पत्तिः, जृम्भिकाजननम्
Indra’s Distress: Slaying of Triśiras, Birth of Vṛtra, and the Origin of Yawning
असृजंस्ते महासत्त्वा जृम्भिकां वृत्रनाशिनीम् । विजृम्भमाणस्य ततो वृत्रस्यास्थादपावृतात्
asṛjaṃs te mahāsattvā jṛmbhikāṃ vṛtranāśinīm | vijṛmbhamāṇasya tato vṛtrasyāsthād apāvṛtāt ||
Entonces aquellos poderosos dioses hicieron surgir el poder del bostezo (jṛmbhikā), destinado a destruir a Vṛtra. Cuando Vṛtra bostezó y estiró la boca hasta abrirla de par en par, Indra —matador de Bala— recogió sus miembros y se deslizó fuera por aquella abertura. Desde ese suceso, la fuerza que provoca el bostezo pasó a morar en el aliento de todos los seres vivientes.
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers an etiological myth: an everyday bodily act (yawning) is traced to a cosmic event. It also implies that even overwhelming threats can be overcome through intelligent, timely means rather than brute force alone—aligning power with right order (dharma) and strategic discernment.
Śalya recounts how the gods generated a special force called Jṛmbhikā to bring about Vṛtra’s downfall. When Vṛtra yawned and opened his mouth wide, Indra contracted himself and escaped from the opening; thereafter the ‘yawning-force’ is said to reside in the life-breaths of beings.