Shloka 42
Atithi-satkāra and the Consolation of Wise Counsel (अतिथिसत्कारः प्रज्ञानवचनस्य च पराश्वासनम्)
अब इन्द्रके पास दोहरी ब्रह्महत्या उपस्थित हुई। उसके भयसे इन्द्रने देवराजपदका परित्याग कर दिया और मानसरोवरके जलनमें उत्पन्न हुई एक शीतल कमलिनीके पास जा पहुँचे। वहाँ अणिमा आदि ऐश्वर्यके योगसे इन्द्र अणुमात्र रूप धारण करके कमलनालकी ग्रन्थिमें प्रविष्ट हो गये
atha indrasya samīpe dvi-vidhā brahmahatyā samupasthitā | tasyā bhayād indro devarājatvaṃ parityajya mānasasarovarasya jalāśaye jātaṃ śītalaṃ kamalinīṃ prati jagāma | tatra aṇimādi-aiśvarya-yogena indro 'ṇumātra-rūpaṃ dhṛtvā kamalanālasya granthiṃ praviṣṭaḥ |
そのとき、二重のブラフマ殺し（brahma-hatyā）の罪がインドラに迫った。これを恐れたインドラは天帝の位を捨て、マーナサ湖（Mānasa）の水に生じた冷ややかな蓮の林へと赴いた。そこでアニマー（aṇimā）に始まる神通のヨーガ力をもって、身を原子ほどに小さくし、蓮茎の節の結び目に入り込んで隠れた。この挿話は、最高の支配者でさえ道徳的帰結から逃れ得ないこと、また罪への恐れが、責任ある贖いよりも逃避へと人を駆り立てうることを示している。
तास्त्वाष्ट उवाच क्व गमिष्यथास्यतां तावन्मया सह श्रेयो भविष्यन्तीति
Educational Q&A
Moral authority does not exempt anyone from the consequences of grave wrongdoing: even Indra, the king of the gods, is shaken by brahmahatyā. The passage highlights the ethical weight of brahmin-slaying and suggests that evasion born of fear is a flawed response compared to facing responsibility and seeking proper expiation.
A twofold brahmahatyā approaches Indra, frightening him. He relinquishes his divine kingship, goes to Lake Mānasasarovara, and using the siddhi of aṇimā becomes minute and hides inside a knot of a lotus-stalk in a cool lotus-grove.