Shloka 148
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 3 — Janamejaya’s Rite, Dhaumya’s Parīkṣā, and Uttanka’s Kuṇḍala Quest (सर्पसत्रप्रस्तावना–गुरुपरीक्षा–उत्तङ्कोपाख्यान)
वज्स्य भर्ता भुवनस्य गोप्ता वृत्रस्थ हन्ता नमुचेर्निहन्ता । कृष्णे वसानो वसने महात्मा सत्यानृते यो विविनक्ति लोके,जो महात्मा वज्र धारण करके तीनों लोकोंकी रक्षा करते हैं, जिन्होंने वृत्रासुरका वध तथा नमुचि दानवका संहार किया है, जो काले रंगके दो वस्त्र पहनते और लोकमें सत्य एवं असत्यका विवेचन करते हैं; जलसे प्रकट हुए प्राचीन वैश्वानररूप अश्वको वाहन बनाकर उसपर चढ़ते हैं तथा जो तीनों लोकोंके शासक हैं, उन जगदीश्वर पुरन्दरको मेरा नमस्कार है
vajrasya bhartā bhuvanasya goptā vṛtrasya hantā namucer nihantā | kṛṣṇe vasāno vasane mahātmā satyānṛte yo vivinakti loke |
Rama said: “I bow to Purandara (Indra)—the bearer of the thunderbolt, the protector of the worlds, the slayer of Vṛtra and the destroyer of Namuci; the great-souled one who is clad in dark garments and who, in the world, discerns truth from untruth.”
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ideal sovereignty and moral order as the capacity to protect the world and to discern satya (truth) from anṛta (falsehood). Indra is praised not only for martial victory over chaos (Vṛtra, Namuci) but also for ethical discrimination that sustains dharma.
Rama offers a hymn of salutation to Indra (Purandara), identifying him through well-known epithets: bearer of the vajra, guardian of the worlds, and slayer of Vṛtra and Namuci, while also highlighting his role as a judge of truth and falsehood.