Shloka 11
Āraṇyaka-parva Adhyāya 277 — Sāvitrī-Upākhyāna: Aśvapati’s Vows and Sāvitrī’s Birth; Search for a Suitable Husband Begins
शक्रप्रभृतयश्चैव सर्वे ते सुरसत्तमा: । वानरक्_्षवरस्त्रीषु जनयामासुरात्मजान्,इन्द्र आदि समस्त श्रेष्ठ देवता भी वानरों तथा रीछोंकी उत्तम स्त्रियोंसे संतान उत्पन्न करने लगे। वे सब वानर और रीछ यश तथा बलमें अपने पिता देवताओंके समान ही हुए। वे पर्वतोंक शिखर तोड़ डालनेकी शक्ति रखते थे एवं शाल (साखू) और ताल (ताड़)-के वृक्ष तथा पत्थरोंकी चट्टानें ही उनके आयुध थे
śakra-prabhṛtayaś caiva sarve te sura-sattamāḥ | vānara-ṛkṣa-vara-strīṣu janayāmāsur ātmajān ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Indra and the other foremost gods, all those best among the celestials, begot their own sons upon the finest females among the monkeys and bears. Thus were born monkey- and bear-heroes who matched their divine fathers in fame and strength—capable of shattering mountain-peaks, and taking sāla and tāla trees and great rocks as their weapons.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights providential support for dharma: when a great task requires extraordinary aid, higher powers generate capable allies. It also frames strength as purposeful—meant to uphold righteous aims rather than mere display.
Mārkaṇḍeya explains the origin of powerful monkey- and bear-heroes: Indra and other leading gods father children through the best females among vānaras and ṛkṣas, producing warriors of divine-like fame and strength who wield trees and rocks and can break mountain peaks.