Shloka 8
Udyoga Parva, Adhyaya 104: Nārada on Suhṛt and Nirbandha; the Viśvāmitra–Gālava Exemplum Begins
एतच्चैवाहमहामि भूयश्न बलवृत्रहन् | त्रैलोकस्येश्वरो यो5हं परभृत्यत्वमागत:
etac caivāham āmi bhūyaśna balavṛtrahan | trailokasyeśvaro yo 'haṃ parabhṛtyatvam āgataḥ ||
“At muli kong inaamin ito, O mamumuksa kina Bala at Vṛtra. Karapat-dapat nga akong tratuhin nang ganito, sapagkat bagama’t kaya kong maghari sa tatlong daigdig, tinanggap ko ang kalagayang maglingkod sa iba.”
गरुड उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even one who possesses great power and status must accept responsibility for choices that diminish one’s dignity; voluntary dependence or servitude can make one liable to treatment one would otherwise reject, so ethical self-accountability is essential.
Garuḍa addresses Indra (praised as the slayer of Bala and Vṛtra) and confesses that he deserves the present situation because, despite being capable of sovereignty over the three worlds, he has accepted serving another—an admission framed as moral self-judgment.