Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 27
Vivāha-dharma: Kanyā-pradāna, Śulka, and Pāṇigrahaṇa-niṣṭhā (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय ४४)
भीष्म उवाच तत् श्रुत्वा वचनं शक्रो विपुलस्य महात्मन: । अकिंचिदुक्त्वा व्रीडार्तस्तत्रैवान्तरधीयत
bhīṣma uvāca tat śrutvā vacanaṃ śakro vipulasya mahātmanaḥ | akiñcid uktvā vrīḍārtaḥ tatraivāntaradhīyata ||
भीष्म ने कहा—महात्मा विपुल के वे वचन सुनकर शक्र इन्द्र लज्जा से व्याकुल हो उठे। कुछ भी उत्तर न देकर वे वहीं से अन्तर्धान हो गये।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the highest authority is not above dharma: when confronted by a righteous, truth-speaking person, arrogance collapses into shame. The verse highlights ethical accountability and the power of moral clarity over mere status or power.
Vipula has spoken a pointed, dharmic rebuke or instruction. Indra, hearing it, feels ashamed, offers no counter-argument, and disappears on the spot—an implicit acknowledgment of Vipula’s moral force.