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Shloka 14

Adhyaya 5Tvashta’s Wrath, the Birth of Vritra, and the Divine Descent as the Pandavas

धर्मेण तेजसा त्यक्तं बलहीनमरूपिणम् ।

ज्ञात्वा सुरेशं दैतेयास्तज्जये चक्रुरुद्यमम् ॥

dharmeṇa tejasā tyaktaṃ balahīnam arūpiṇam | jñātvā sureśaṃ daiteyās tajjaye cakrur udyamam ||

Sachant que le seigneur des dieux (Indra) avait été délaissé par le dharma et par la splendeur (śrī)—sans puissance et, pour ainsi dire, sans forme—les Daitya entreprirent de le conquérir.

dharmeṇaby dharma/righteousness
dharmeṇa:
Karaṇa (करण)
TypeNoun
Rootdharma (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग (m.), तृतीया विभक्ति (Inst. 3), एकवचन (sg.)
tejasāby splendor/power
tejasā:
Karaṇa (करण)
TypeNoun
Roottejas (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), तृतीया विभक्ति (Inst. 3), एकवचन (sg.)
tyaktamabandoned
tyaktam:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Root√tyaj (धातु)
Formक्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग (m.), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Acc. 2), एकवचन (sg.); ‘abandoned’ (qualifying sureśam)
bala-hīnamdevoid of strength
bala-hīnam:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootbala (प्रातिपदिक) + hīna (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग (m.), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Acc. 2), एकवचन (sg.); तत्पुरुषः: ‘बलेन हीनः’
a-rūpiṇamformless/without proper form
a-rūpiṇam:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Roota-rūpin (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग (m.), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Acc. 2), एकवचन (sg.)
jñātvāhaving known
jñātvā:
Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
TypeVerb
Root√jñā (धातु)
Formक्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभावः; ‘having known/realized’
sureśamthe lord of the gods (Indra)
sureśam:
Karma (कर्म) (object of jñātvā)
TypeNoun
Rootsura-īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग (m.), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Acc. 2), एकवचन (sg.); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: ‘सुराणाम् ईशः’
daiteyāḥthe Daityas
daiteyāḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootdaiteya (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nom. 1), बहुवचन (pl.)
tat-jayein conquering him / for his defeat
tat-jaye:
Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Roottad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + jaya (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग (m.), सप्तमी विभक्ति (Loc. 7), एकवचन (sg.); तत्पुरुषः: ‘तस्य जयः’ → ‘तज्जय’ ; अर्थे ‘तस्य जये’ (in his conquest/defeat)
cakruḥmade/undertook
cakruḥ:
Kriyā (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Root√kṛ (धातु)
Formलिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद (P.), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन (pl.)
udyamameffort/enterprise
udyamam:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootudyama (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग (m.), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Acc. 2), एकवचन (sg.)
Narratorial puranic voice (contextual narration; specific frame-speaker not provided in input)

{ "primaryRasa": "vira", "secondaryRasa": "raudra", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Indra (Sureśa)
Dharma and royal potency (tejas)Decline of divine authorityAsura opportunismCosmic order and its disruption

FAQs

Authority (even divine kingship) is sustained by dharma and tejas; when righteousness and inner radiance depart, power collapses and hostile forces naturally rise. The verse frames political/moral decline as a spiritual causality, not merely a military one.

This aligns most closely with Manvantara/Anucarita-style narration: episodic accounts of gods, demons, and rulership across cosmic time that illustrate dharma’s maintenance or erosion within a given era.

Indra symbolizes the governing mind/sovereignty; tejas is the luminous force of disciplined virtue. When dharma-tejas is ‘abandoned,’ sovereignty becomes ‘arūpin’ (unmanifest/ineffective), and lower impulses (Daityas) attempt to seize control—an inner allegory of ethical and psychological degeneration precipitating conflict.