Shloka 13
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 209: Śaraṇāgati of the Cursed Apsarases; Nārītīrtha-prasiddhi; Arjuna’s Vimocana
यज्जैर्यजन्ति ये केचिद् याजयन्ति च ये द्विजा: । तान् सर्वान् प्रसभं हत्वा बलिनौ जग्मतुस्तत:,जो लोग यज्ञ करते तथा जो ब्राह्मण आचार्य बनकर यज्ञ कराते थे, उन सबका बलपूर्वक वध करके वे महाबली दैत्य आगे बढ़ जाते थे
yaj jair yajanti ye kecid yājayanti ca ye dvijāḥ | tān sarvān prasabhaṁ hatvā balinau jagmatus tataḥ ||
Nārada said: “Those who performed sacrifices, and those twice-born Brahmins who served as officiating priests and caused sacrifices to be performed—having violently slain them all, the two mighty demons then advanced onward.” The verse highlights a deliberate assault on Vedic religious order: not merely killing in battle, but targeting sacrificial agents and the ritual economy that sustains dharma.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that adharma often manifests as an attack on the institutions that uphold dharma—here, the yajña system and its officiants. By targeting sacrificers and priests, the aggressors aim to dismantle moral and cosmic order, not merely defeat individuals.
Nārada narrates that two powerful beings (described as ‘balinau’) move forward after forcibly killing people engaged in sacrifices and the Brahmin priests who conducted those rites, indicating a campaign of terror against Vedic ritual life.