Shloka 3
Indra’s Brahma-hatyā, Flight from Sin, and Purification by Aśvamedha
श्रीराजोवाच इन्द्रस्यानिर्वृतेर्हेतुं श्रोतुमिच्छामि भो मुने । येनासन् सुखिनो देवा हरेर्दु:खं कुतोऽभवत् ॥ ३ ॥
śrī-rājovāca indrasyānirvṛter hetuṁ śrotum icchāmi bho mune yenāsan sukhino devā harer duḥkhaṁ kuto ’bhavat
श्रीराजा म्हणाला—हे मुने, इंद्राच्या अस्वस्थतेचे कारण मला ऐकायचे आहे. वृत्रासुरवधाने सर्व देव आनंदित झाले, मग इंद्राला दुःख का झाले?
This, of course, is a very intelligent question. When a demon is killed, certainly all the demigods are happy. In this case, however, when all the demigods were happy because of Vṛtrāsura’s having been killed, Indra was unhappy. Why? It may be suggested that Indra was unhappy because he knew that he had killed a great devotee and brāhmaṇa. Vṛtrāsura outwardly appeared to be a demon, but inwardly he was a great devotee and therefore a great brāhmaṇa.
FAQs
This verse frames the inquiry: Indra’s inner unrest has a specific cause tied to events that made the demigods happy, and Parīkṣit requests that cause be explained by the sage.
Hearing that Indra was troubled, Parīkṣit seeks the narrative and moral reason behind it—especially how the devas benefited while Hari is spoken of in connection with distress—so Śukadeva can clarify the deeper dharma and bhakti principles.
Even when outcomes seem favorable externally, one should examine the ethical and spiritual causes behind them; peace comes from dharma and devotion, not merely from “winning” or achieving success.