Shloka 6

युधिष्ठिरकृष्णसंवादः — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Appeal and Kṛṣṇa’s Assurance

Droṇa-parva, Adhyāya 59

Devanagari script

सुरासुरैरवध्यं तं देवब्राह्मणकण्टकम्‌

Transliteration

surāsurair avadhyaṃ taṃ devabrāhmaṇakaṇṭakam

Translation

Nārada berkata: “Dia itu kebal bahkan terhadap para dewa dan asura—namun telah menjadi duri bagi para deva dan brāhmaṇa.”

Word by Word

सुरासुरैःby the gods and the demons

अवध्यंinvincible; not to be slain

तम्him; that one

देवब्राह्मणकण्टकम्a thorn (bane) to gods and brahmins

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

Suras (Devas)

Asuras

Brāhmaṇas

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Extraordinary strength or invulnerability is not itself a virtue; when it turns against the devas and brāhmaṇas—symbols of cosmic order and sacred learning—it becomes a moral threat. The verse frames power as accountable to dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada characterizes a formidable figure as ‘unslayable’ even by gods and demons, yet harmful to the divine and priestly order, setting up the need for a dharmic response to a seemingly unstoppable menace.