Shloka 10
बलिस्तु यजते यज्ञमश्चवमेधं महीं गतः । येडन्येडधस्था महीस्थाश्व ते न दग्धा महासुरा:
balis tu yajate yajñam aśvamedhaṁ mahīṁ gataḥ | ye ’nyed adhasthā mahī-sthāś ca te na dagdhā mahāsurāḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : «En ce temps-là, le roi Bali était monté sur la terre et accomplissait le sacrifice de l’Aśvamedha. Aussi les grands Asuras qui se trouvaient avec lui sur la terre, ainsi que ceux qui demeuraient dans les régions souterraines, furent-ils ceux qui échappèrent aux flammes.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the protective and status-conferring power of sacred action (yajña) and location: Bali’s presence on earth performing a royal sacrifice becomes the contextual reason some Asuras are spared, suggesting that ritual order and circumstance can shape outcomes even amid cosmic upheaval.
Bhishma explains that when a destructive burning occurred, the Asuras who were with King Bali on earth—where he was conducting an Aśvamedha—and those who remained in the lower regions were not consumed; others, by implication, were burned.