Shloka 17

Devanagari script

अमानयन्‌ हि मानारहन्‌ वातापिश्न महासुर: । निहतो ब्रह्म॒दण्डेन तालजड्घस्तथैव च,“माननीय ब्राह्मणोंका सम्मान न करनेके कारण ही महान्‌ असुर वातापि और उसी प्रकार तालजंघ ब्रह्मदण्डसे मारे गये

Transliteration

amānayan hi mānārhan vātāpiś ca mahāsuraḥ | nihato brahmadaṇḍena tālajaṅghas tathaiva ca ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Because they failed to honor those worthy of honor—venerable brāhmaṇas—the great asura Vātāpi was slain by the ‘rod of Brahman’ (the spiritual power and curse of a brāhmaṇa); and in the same way Tālajaṅgha too met his death. The passage underscores that contempt for the righteous and the learned invites inevitable ruin, for dharma protects those who uphold reverence and punishes arrogance toward the deserving.

Word by Word

अमानयन्they did not honor / they disrespected

हिindeed / for

मानार्हान्those worthy of honor

वातापिःVātāpi (name of an asura)

चand

महासुरःthe great demon

निहतःkilled / slain

ब्रह्मदण्डेनby the Brahmin's staff / by the brahma-rod

तालजङ्घःTālajaṅgha (name of an asura)

तथाthus / in the same way

एवindeed / just

चand

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Vātāpi

Tālajaṅgha

brahmadaṇḍa

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Those who refuse to honor the truly worthy—especially righteous brāhmaṇas and bearers of dharma—invite downfall; spiritual authority (brahmadaṇḍa) is portrayed as a decisive moral force that checks arrogance and irreverence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana cites exemplars: the asuras Vātāpi and Tālajaṅgha were killed because they did not respect venerable brāhmaṇas; their deaths are attributed to brahmadaṇḍa, i.e., the punitive power of a brāhmaṇa’s curse/ascetic might.