Shloka 18
Garuḍa’s Assault on the Devas and the Fire-Barrier (अमृत-रक्षा-युद्धम्)
स तान् निषादानुपसंहरंस्तदा रज: समुद्धूय नभ:स्पृशं महत् | समुद्रकुक्षोी च विशोषयन् पय: समीपजान् भूधरजान् विचालयन्,उन निषादोंका संहार करनेके लिये उन्होंने उस समय इतनी अधिक धूल उड़ायी, जो पृथ्वीसे आकाशतक छा गयी। वहाँ समुद्रकी कुक्षिमें जो जल था, उसका शोषण करके उन्होंने समीपवर्ती पर्वतीय वृक्षोंको भी विकम्पित कर दिया
sa tān niṣādān upasaṃharan tadā rajaḥ samuddhūya nabhaḥspṛśaṃ mahat | samudrakukṣau ca viśoṣayan payaḥ samīpajān bhūdharajān vicālayan ||
Pagkaraan, sa hangaring lipulin ang mga Niṣāda, nagpaalimbukay siya ng napakalaking ulap ng alikabok na mula sa lupa’y umabot hanggang langit. Hinigop pa niya ang mga tubig na nasa kailaliman ng dagat, at sa lakas ng kanyang paggalaw ay nayugyog ang mga punongkahoy sa mga bundok na kalapit.
गरुड उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the epic motif that extraordinary power, when directed toward a goal (here, the destruction of enemies), can have vast collateral effects on the natural world; it implicitly raises an ethical awareness of how violence and force disturb the wider order beyond the immediate target.
Garuḍa describes (or the narration reports through his speech) his overwhelming assault on the Niṣādas: he raises a sky-reaching dust cloud, affects even the ocean’s waters, and shakes the mountain trees—emphasizing the superhuman scale of his action.