Shloka 11

Indra's Campaign on Mount Malaya — Indra’s Campaign on Mount Malaya and the Birth of the Maruts (Origin of the Epithet Gotrabhid)

Devanagari script

अथाजुहाव बलहा सर्वानेव महासुरान् ते चाप्याययुरव्यग्रा विकिरन्तः शेरोत्करान्

Transliteration

athājuhāva balahā sarvāneva mahāsurān te cāpyāyayuravyagrā vikirantaḥ śerotkarān

Translation

Then Balahā summoned all the great Asuras. And they too arrived without hesitation, scattering heaps of ‘śera’ (interpretable as coins/treasures or valuables) as they came.

Speakers

• Narrator describing the Asura-side mobilization.

Key Themes

• Asura mustering and command structure
• Display of wealth and power
• Imminence of conflict

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who is Balahā in this passage?

Balahā appears as an asuric figure functioning as a caller or commander who convenes the ‘mahāsuras’. Without additional surrounding verses, the safest identification is a named Asura leader within the Andhaka-war cycle.

What does ‘śerotkara’ indicate—what are they scattering?

The compound suggests ‘heaps of śera’. In many Purāṇic/vernacularized registers, such terms point to coinage or valuables. Narratively it conveys ostentation and abundance—Asuras arriving in pomp, flaunting wealth.

Why emphasize that they came ‘avyagrāḥ’ (without hesitation)?

It characterizes the Asuras as confident and promptly responsive to command, heightening the sense of an organized, formidable opposition just before the climactic confrontations of the Andhaka cycle.