Shloka 183
Vāsudeva’s Upadeśa: The Inner Enemy and the Indra–Vṛtra Precedent (आत्मशत्रु-बोधः; इन्द्र-वृत्रोपाख्यानम्)
रथन्तरेण तं तात वसिष्ठ: प्रत्ययोधयत् । तात! वृत्रासुरसे गृहीत होनेपर इन्द्रके मनपर महान् मोह छा गया। तब महर्षि वसिष्ठने रथन्तर सामके द्वारा उन्हें सचेत किया
rathantareṇa taṃ tāta vasiṣṭhaḥ pratyayodhayat | tāta! vṛtrāsurase gṛhīta honepara indrasya manasi mahān mohaś chāyāgataḥ | tadā maharṣiḥ vasiṣṭho rathantara-sāmakena tān sacetayām āsa |
Vāyu said: “Dear child, Vasiṣṭha roused him to clarity by means of the Rathantara chant. When Indra had been seized by the sin incurred in the affair of Vṛtrāsura, a great delusion overwhelmed his mind; then the sage Vasiṣṭha awakened him through the Rathantara Sāman.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even powerful beings can fall into delusion when burdened by moral taint; the remedy is guidance from realized sages and the purifying, stabilizing force of Vedic discipline (here, the Rathantara Sāman) that restores discernment and right action.
Vāyu narrates that Indra, overwhelmed by confusion after being seized by the sin connected with Vṛtrāsura, is brought back to awareness by the sage Vasiṣṭha through the recitation of the Rathantara Sāman.