Shalya Parva Adhyaya 45 Shloka 26 - Mahabharata | French | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 26

Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission

Devanagari script

मायाशतथधरं काम॑ कामवीर्य बलान्वितम्‌ | ददौ स्कन्दाय राजेन्द्र सुरारिविनिबर्हणम्‌

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

māyāśatadharaṃ kāmaṃ kāmavīrya-balānvitam |

dadau skandāya rājendra surārivinibarhaṇam ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : Ô roi, Śiva conféra à Skanda un être d’une puissance immense—porteur de centaines de sortilèges, dont la force et la vaillance pouvaient être appelées à volonté, et capable d’écraser les ennemis des dieux. La scène met en lumière la logique morale de l’épopée : lorsque l’ordre cosmique est menacé, la puissance divine est confiée à un chef digne, non pour un profit personnel, mais pour protéger le dharma et contenir les forces de destruction.

Word by Word

मायाशतधरम्bearing a hundred illusions

कामम्desire / as desired

कामवीर्यबलान्वितम्endowed with strength and prowess as desired

ददौgave

स्कन्दायto Skanda

राजेन्द्रO king of kings

सुरारिविनिबर्हणम्the destroyer of the enemies of the gods

रुद्रैःby/with the Rudras

वसुभिःby/with the Vasus

आदित्यैःby/with the Adityas

अश्विभ्याम्by/with the two Ashvins

चand

वृतःsurrounded

प्रभुःthe lord

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Skanda (Kārttikeya)

Śiva (Śaṅkara/Rudra) (implied by context of bestowal)

Surāḥ (the gods) (as a class)

Surāri (enemies of the gods) (as a class)

Māyā (magical powers) (as a concept)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Power is portrayed as legitimate when it is entrusted for the protection of dharma—used to restrain forces that threaten the gods’ order, not to satisfy private ambition. The verse frames might (bala, vīrya) as ethically directed when aligned with cosmic responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that Skanda is granted a formidable ally/force characterized by hundreds of māyās (magical capacities) and on-demand strength, specifically described as capable of crushing the enemies of the gods—signaling divine mobilization for a larger conflict.