Shloka 6

Devanagari script

सुरासुरैरवध्यं तं देवब्राह्मणकण्टकम्‌

Transliteration

surāsurair avadhyaṃ taṃ devabrāhmaṇakaṇṭakam

Translation

Nārada said: “That one was invulnerable even to gods and demons—yet he had become a thorn in the side of the devas and the brāhmaṇas,” implying a power misused against the moral and sacred order.

Word by Word

• सुरासुरैः: by the gods and the demons
• सुरासुरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर + असुर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• अवध्यं: invincible; not to be slain
• अवध्यं: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अवध्य
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• तम्: him; that one
• तम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• देवब्राह्मणकण्टकम्: a thorn (bane) to gods and brahmins
• देवब्राह्मणकण्टकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव + ब्राह्मण + कण्टक
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Suras (Devas)
• Asuras
• Brāhmaṇas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Extraordinary strength or invulnerability is not itself a virtue; when it turns against the devas and brāhmaṇas—symbols of cosmic order and sacred learning—it becomes a moral threat. The verse frames power as accountable to dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada characterizes a formidable figure as ‘unslayable’ even by gods and demons, yet harmful to the divine and priestly order, setting up the need for a dharmic response to a seemingly unstoppable menace.