Shloka 11
मधुकैटभवधोपाख्यानम्
The Account of the Slaying of Madhu and Kaiṭabha
प्रजापालनदक्षांश्व नरेन्द्रान् धर्मचारिण: । उदपानं प्रपा वापी तडागानि सरंसि च,राजन! विचित्र आश्रमों, नाना प्रकारकी कल्याण-कारिणी नदियों, समृद्धिशाली नगरों, गाँवों, जनपदों, प्रजापालन-कुशल धर्मात्मा नरेशों, कुओं, पौसलों, बावलियों, तालाबों तथा ब्रह्मचर्यपरायण श्रेष्ठ ब्राह्मणोंद्वारा सेवित अनेकानेक सरोवरोंका अवलोकन करते हुए शतक्रतु इन्द्र एक रमणीय भूभागमें उतरे
Vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | prajā-pālana-dakṣāṃś ca narendrān dharma-cāriṇaḥ | udapānaṃ prapā vāpī taḍāgāni sarāṃsi ca |
Vaiśaṃpāyana disse: Ao percorrer a terra, Śatakratu Indra viu reis justos—hábeis em proteger seus súditos—bem como obras públicas que sustentam a vida: poços, abrigos de água para viajantes, poços em degraus, tanques e lagos. Observando esses sinais de governo dhármico e beneficência, Indra desceu a uma região encantadora.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic kingship: a ruler’s righteousness is shown not only in personal virtue but in competent protection of subjects and the creation/maintenance of life-sustaining public resources like wells and water-resting places—acts that generate welfare and merit.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates that Indra, moving through the world, observes regions marked by righteous rulers and abundant public water-works (wells, drinking-sheds, stepwells, ponds, lakes). Seeing these auspicious signs, he descends into a pleasant area.