Shloka 28
Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission
तथा देवा ददुस्तस्मै सेनां नैऋतसंकुलाम् । देवशत्रुक्षयकरीमजय्यां विष्णुरूपिणीम्
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
tathā devā dadus tasmai senāṃ nairṛta-saṅkulām |
deva-śatru-kṣaya-karīm ajayyāṃ viṣṇu-rūpiṇīm ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「同じく神々は、ナイリリタで満ちた軍勢を彼に授けた。ヴィシュヌの姿と力を帯びた、無敵の大軍であり、神々の敵を滅ぼすために定められたものだ。この段は、神々の戦いを正当化された行為として描く。力は私益のためではなく、デーヴァの正当な安定を脅かす者を除き、宇宙の秩序を回復するために与えられるのである。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and victory are portrayed as legitimate when aligned with the protection of cosmic order: the gods bestow an invincible force not for conquest as ego, but for the removal of those who endanger the devas’ rightful balance—an ethical framing of violence as duty-bound, not self-serving.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that the gods grant ‘him’ (contextually, the divinely supported commander—often identified in this episode with Kumāra/Kārttikeya in many recensions and summaries) an invincible army packed with Nairṛtas, characterized as Viṣṇu-like, specifically meant to destroy the enemies of the gods.