Shloka 10
बलिस्तु यजते यज्ञमश्चवमेधं महीं गतः । येडन्येडधस्था महीस्थाश्व ते न दग्धा महासुरा:
balis tu yajate yajñam aśvamedhaṁ mahīṁ gataḥ | ye ’nyed adhasthā mahī-sthāś ca te na dagdhā mahāsurāḥ ||
அந்நேரம் அரசன் பலி பூமிக்கு வந்து அசுவமேத யாகம் செய்து கொண்டிருந்தான்; ஆகவே அவனுடன் பூமியில் இருந்த மகாசுரர்களும், மேலும் பாதாளத்தில் இருந்த பிறவர்களும் மட்டுமே எரியாமல் தப்பினர்।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the protective and status-conferring power of sacred action (yajña) and location: Bali’s presence on earth performing a royal sacrifice becomes the contextual reason some Asuras are spared, suggesting that ritual order and circumstance can shape outcomes even amid cosmic upheaval.
Bhishma explains that when a destructive burning occurred, the Asuras who were with King Bali on earth—where he was conducting an Aśvamedha—and those who remained in the lower regions were not consumed; others, by implication, were burned.