Shloka 30
Marutta’s Sacrifice and Agni’s Embassy (मरुत्त-यज्ञे दूतत्वम्)
प्रत्राजयेयं कालकेयान् पृथिव्या- मपाकर्षन् दानवानन्तरिक्षात् दिव: प्रह्लादमवसानमानयं को मे5सुखाय प्रहरेत मानव:
śakra uvāca | pratrājayeyam kālakeyān pṛthivyām apākarṣan dānavān antarīkṣāt | divaḥ prahlādam avasānam ānayaṃ ko me 'sukhāya praharet mānavaḥ ||
Śakra (Indra) proclame sa puissance écrasante : «Si je le voulais, je pourrais arracher du ciel les démons Kālakeya et les précipiter sur la terre ; de même, je pourrais mettre un terme à la domination de Prahlāda au ciel. Dès lors, parmi les hommes, qui pourrait me frapper dans l’intention de me faire souffrir ?»
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical danger of hubris: when confronted with vastly superior power (here, divine), reckless aggression is both futile and morally misguided. It implicitly advises discernment, humility, and restraint rather than provocation driven by ego.
Indra (Śakra) speaks in a boastful, warning tone, asserting that he can subdue powerful demons like the Kālakeyas and even end Prahlāda’s heavenly rule; on that basis he challenges the idea that any human could meaningfully harm him.