Shloka 17
मातापितृपूजन-प्रधानधर्मः (Primacy of Filial Service) — Mārkaṇḍeya’s Account of the Vyādha’s Instruction
अन्तरिक्षे विमानादि देवतानां युधिष्ठिर । तत्रैव समदृश्यन्त धुन्धुर्यत्र महासुर:
antarikṣe vimānādi devatānāṁ yudhiṣṭhira | tatraiva samadṛśyanta dhundhur yatra mahāsuraḥ ||
Mārkaṇḍeya berkata: “Wahai Yudhiṣṭhira, di pertengahan langit kelihatan kereta-kereta udara para dewa dan seumpamanya, tepat di sana—di tempat Asura agung Dhundhu berada.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that when adharma takes the form of a powerful Asura, the cosmic order responds: divine forces become visibly present, suggesting that moral disorder draws corrective attention from higher powers and that no wrongdoing remains isolated from the wider moral universe.
Mārkaṇḍeya describes to Yudhiṣṭhira a scene in which the gods’ aerial vehicles are visible in the sky at the very location associated with the great Asura Dhundhu, indicating a charged moment of divine observation or impending confrontation.