Shloka 33

Marutta’s Sacrifice and Agni’s Embassy (मरुत्त-यज्ञे दूतत्वम्)

Devanagari script

ततो रोषात्‌ सर्वतो घोररूप॑ सपत्नं ते जनयामास भूख: । मर्द नामासूुरं विश्वरूपं य॑ त्वं दृष्टवा चक्षुषी संन्यमील:

Transliteration

tato roṣāt sarvato ghorarūpaṃ sapatnaṃ te janayāmāsa bhūḥ | marda nāmāsuraṃ viśvarūpaṃ yaṃ tvaṃ dṛṣṭvā cakṣuṣī saṃnyamīlaḥ ||

Translation

Alors, dans sa colère, la Terre fit naître pour toi un adversaire à la forme terrifiante de toutes parts : un asura nommé Marda, dont l’apparence semblait envahir le monde entier. En le voyant, tu fermai les yeux, accablé par l’horreur du spectacle.

Word by Word

• {'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'roṣāt': 'from anger, out of wrath', 'sarvataḥ': 'on all sides, everywhere', 'ghora-rūpam': 'of dreadful/terrifying form', 'sapatnam': 'rival, enemy, adversary', 'te': 'for you, to you', 'janayāmāsa': 'caused to be born, produced, generated', 'bhūḥ': 'the Earth (goddess), the ground', 'marda': "Marda (proper name

• lit. 'crusher/tormentor')", 'nāmā': 'named', 'asuram': 'asura, anti-god/demonic being', 'viśva-rūpam': 'having a universal form

• all-encompassing in appearance', 'yaṃ': 'whom/which', 'tvaṃ': 'you', 'dṛṣṭvā': 'having seen', 'cakṣuṣī': 'the two eyes', 'saṃnyamīlaḥ': 'you closed/shut (completely)'}

Speaker

शक्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śakra (Indra)
• Bhūḥ (Earth goddess)
• Marda (asura)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how wrath can generate formidable opposition and disorder, even on a cosmic scale; it also underscores the overwhelming power of certain manifestations, before which even a great deity like Indra recoils, suggesting the ethical need for restraint and steadiness in the face of fearsome forces.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śakra (Indra) recounts that the Earth, moved by anger, produced a terrifying enemy for him: the asura Marda, described as viśvarūpa (world-pervading). The sight was so dreadful that Indra shut his eyes.