Shloka 85
असूयतश्च शक्रस्य वज्ेण प्रहरिष्यत: । बाहुं सवज्ं तं तस्य क्रुद्धस्यास्तम्भयत् प्रभु:
asūyataś ca śakrasya vajreṇa prahariṣyataḥ | bāhuṃ savajraṃ taṃ tasya kruddhasyāstambhayat prabhuḥ ||
Vyāsa said: As Śakra (Indra), moved by resentment, was about to strike with his thunderbolt, the mighty Lord checked his enraged arm—thunderbolt in hand—restraining the act before it could be carried out. The passage underscores the ethical necessity of curbing wrath and preventing destructive violence even when power and weapons are at hand.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power must be governed by restraint: even a justified or possible act of violence becomes adharma when driven by envy and anger. The verse highlights the dharmic ideal of preventing harm by checking wrath at its source.
Indra (Śakra), resentful and angry, raises his arm to strike with the thunderbolt. A mighty figure (prabhuḥ) intervenes and physically restrains his arm, stopping the blow before it is delivered.