Shloka 356
Vṛddha-kanyā-carita and Balarāma’s Kurukṣetra Inquiry (वृद्धकन्या-चरितम् / कुरुक्षेत्रफल-प्रश्नः)
दैत्यदानववीराणां जघान नवतीर्नव । भरतनन्दन! ब्रह्मतेजसे प्रकट हुए उस वज्रको मन्त्रोच्चारणके साथ अत्यन्त क्रोधपूर्वक छोड़कर भगवान् इन्द्रने आठ सौ दस दैत्य-दानव वीरोंका वध कर डाला
daityadānavavīrāṇāṃ jaghāna navatīr nava | bharatanandana! brahmatejase prakaṭaḥ sa vajraḥ mantroccāraṇena saha atyanta-krodhapūrvakaṃ tyaktvā bhagavān indraḥ aṣṭaśata-daśa daitya-dānava-vīrān vadhaṃ cakāra |
Vaiśampāyana berkata: Wahai kesayangan keturunan Bharata! Indra—setelah menzahirkan vajra yang tampak berkat sinar Brahman, lalu melemparkannya dengan bacaan mantra dalam amarah yang menyala—telah membunuh para juara Daitya dan Dānava: sembilan puluh sembilan, kemudian lapan ratus sepuluh lagi. Petikan ini menegaskan bahawa kuasa yang melimpah, sekalipun disucikan oleh daya sakral dan ujaran ritual, tetap sarat beban etika apabila digerakkan oleh amarah dan dilepaskan dalam perang.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension in warfare: even divinely empowered action (brahma-tejas, mantra) becomes ethically fraught when propelled by krodha (wrath). Sacred power does not automatically sanctify violence; intention and emotional impulse remain central to dharmic evaluation.
Vaiśampāyana recounts Indra manifesting and hurling his vajra with mantra-recitation, and in that onslaught many Daitya and Dānava warriors are slain—first ninety-nine, then eight hundred and ten—emphasizing the devastating efficacy of the divine weapon.