Shloka 15
Vāsudeva’s Upadeśa: The Inner Enemy and the Indra–Vṛtra Precedent (आत्मशत्रु-बोधः; इन्द्र-वृत्रोपाख्यानम्)
शतक्रतुरतिक्रुद्धस्तत्र वज़्मवासृजत् । जब वृत्रासुरने वायुको भी व्याप्त करके उसके स्पर्श नामक विषयका अपहरण कर लिया, तब शतक्रतुने अत्यन्त कुपित होकर वहाँ उसके ऊपर अपना वज्र छोड़ दिया ।। १४ ई | स वध्यमानो वज्रेण तस्मिन्नमिततेजसा
śatakratur atikruddhas tatra vajram avāsṛjat | sa vadhyamāno vajreṇa tasminn amit-tejasā ||
Vāyu said: “Śatakratu (Indra), inflamed with intense anger, hurled his thunderbolt there. Struck down by that thunderbolt of the immeasurably radiant one, he endured the assault.” The passage frames Indra’s retaliatory violence as arising from wrath, while highlighting the overwhelming force of divine weaponry and the peril faced by the one targeted.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds how anger (krodha) precipitates violent action: Indra’s wrath immediately becomes weaponized. Ethically, it cautions that even powerful agents, when driven by rage, escalate harm—implying the value of restraint and discernment before retaliation.
Vāyu narrates that Indra (Śatakratu), furious, throws his vajra. The target is then described as being struck/assailed by that thunderbolt of the immensely radiant Indra, emphasizing the severity of the divine attack.