Shloka 29
Vṛtra’s Cosmic Threat, Viṣṇu’s Upāya, and the Conditional Vulnerability
Udyoga-parva 10
न शुष्केण न चार्द्रेण नाश्मना न च दारुणा । न शस्त्रेण न चास्त्रेण न दिवा न तथा निशि
na śuṣkeṇa na cārdreṇa nāśmanā na ca dāruṇā | na śastreṇa na cāstreṇa na divā na tathā niśi |
‘ಒಣದರಿಂದಲೂ ಅಲ್ಲ, ತೇವದಿಂದಲೂ ಅಲ್ಲ; ಕಲ್ಲಿನಿಂದಲೂ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಮರದಿಂದಲೂ ಅಲ್ಲ; ಶಸ್ತ್ರದಿಂದಲೂ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಅಸ್ತ್ರದಿಂದಲೂ ಅಲ್ಲ; ಹಗಲಲ್ಲ, ರಾತ್ರಿಯಲ್ಲ—ಇಂದ್ರನು ದೇವತೆಗಳೊಡನೆ ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಸಂಹರಿಸಬಾರದು.’
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how power can be sought through narrowly defined protections and contracts; ethically, it warns that relying on technical conditions rather than righteous conduct (dharma) often leads to vulnerability through unforeseen exceptions.
Śalya articulates a set of exclusions—dry/wet, stone/wood, weapon/missile, day/night—as the terms under which he would accept an enduring alliance (sāndhi) with Indra and the gods, presenting a classic epic motif of conditional invulnerability.