Shloka 53
इन्द्रस्य दुःखप्राप्तिः—त्रिशिरोवधः, वृत्रोत्पत्तिः, जृम्भिकाजननम्
Indra’s Distress: Slaying of Triśiras, Birth of Vṛtra, and the Origin of Yawning
असृजंस्ते महासत्त्वा जृम्भिकां वृत्रनाशिनीम् । विजृम्भमाणस्य ततो वृत्रस्यास्थादपावृतात्
asṛjaṃs te mahāsattvā jṛmbhikāṃ vṛtranāśinīm | vijṛmbhamāṇasya tato vṛtrasyāsthād apāvṛtāt ||
Тогда те могучие боги породили силу зевоты (jṛmbhikā), предназначенную погубить Вритру. Когда Вритра зевнул и широко растянул пасть, Индра — губитель Балы — подобрал свои члены и, сжавшись, выскользнул наружу через раскрытый зев. С тех пор сила, вызывающая зевоту, поселилась в дыхании всех живых существ.
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers an etiological myth: an everyday bodily act (yawning) is traced to a cosmic event. It also implies that even overwhelming threats can be overcome through intelligent, timely means rather than brute force alone—aligning power with right order (dharma) and strategic discernment.
Śalya recounts how the gods generated a special force called Jṛmbhikā to bring about Vṛtra’s downfall. When Vṛtra yawned and opened his mouth wide, Indra contracted himself and escaped from the opening; thereafter the ‘yawning-force’ is said to reside in the life-breaths of beings.