Shloka 6
अगस्त्यस्य वित्तयाचनं तथा इल्वलोपभिक्षणनिर्णयः
Agastya’s request for wealth and the decision to seek resources from Ilvala
तस्मै स ब्राह्मणो नादात् पुत्रं वासवसम्मितम् । चुक्रोध सो5सुरस्तस्य ब्राह्मणस्य ततो भूशम्,एक दिन दितिनन्दन इल्वलने एक तपस्वी ब्राह्मणसे कहा--“भगवन्! आप मुझे ऐसा पुत्र दें, जो इन्द्रके समान पराक्रमी हो।' उन ब्राह्मणदेवताने इल्चलको इन्द्रके समान पुत्र नहीं दिया। इससे वह असुर उन ब्राह्मणदेवतापर बहुत कुपित हो उठा। राजन्! तभीसे इल्वल दैत्य क्रोधमें भरकर ब्राह्मणोंकी हत्या करने लगा। वह मायावी अपने भाई वातापिको मायासे बकरा बना देता था। वातापि भी इच्छानुसार रूप धारण करनेमें समर्थ था! अतः वह क्षणभरमें भेड़ा और बकरा बन जाता था। फिर इल्वल उस भेड़ या बकरेको पकाकर उसका मांस राँधता और किसी ब्राह्मणको खिला देता था। इसके बाद वह ब्राह्मणको मारनेकी इच्छा करता था
tasmai sa brāhmaṇo nādāt putraṃ vāsava-sammitam | cukrodha so 'surastasmai brāhmaṇasya tato bhṛśam ||
The brāhmaṇa did not grant him a son equal to Vāsava (Indra) in prowess. Enraged at this refusal, the asura became violently angry with that brāhmaṇa. From then on, Ilvala, burning with wrath, took to killing brāhmaṇas by deceit: he would use his magic to turn his brother Vātāpi into a ram or goat, cook the flesh, and feed it to an unsuspecting brāhmaṇa—seeking thereafter to bring about the eater’s death. The episode highlights how wounded pride and denied desire can devolve into adharma, especially when power is used to target the innocent and the sacred.
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
Denied desire and injured pride, when joined with power, can turn into destructive adharma. The verse frames the brāhmaṇa’s refusal as a boundary of righteousness, while the asura’s retaliatory violence—especially against brāhmaṇas—shows the ethical collapse that follows from anger and deceit.
A brāhmaṇa refuses to grant an asura a son equal to Indra. The asura (identified in the surrounding passage as Ilvala) becomes furious and begins killing brāhmaṇas through a magical ruse involving his brother Vātāpi, whom he turns into a goat/ram, cooks, and feeds to brāhmaṇas to harm them.