Shloka 273
Vṛddha-kanyā-carita and Balarāma’s Kurukṣetra Inquiry (वृद्धकन्या-चरितम् / कुरुक्षेत्रफल-प्रश्नः)
ऋते<स्थिभिर्दधीचस्य निहन्तुं त्रिदशद्विष: । तदनन्तर इन्द्रने देवताओंसे कहा--“दधीच मुनिकी अस्थियोंके सिवा और किसी अस्त्र- शस्त्रसे मेरे द्वारा देवद्रोही महान् असुर नहीं मारे जा सकते
ṛte 'sthibhir dadhīcasya nihantuṃ tridaśadviṣaḥ | tadanantara indreṇa devatābhyo 'se kahā— “dadhīca munikī asthiyoṃ ke sivā aur kisī astra-śastrase mere dvārā devadrohī mahān asura nahīṃ māre jā sakate”
毗湿摩波耶那说：“若非圣者达提遮的骨骸，便不可能诛灭诸天之敌。”其后，因陀罗告诸天神：除达提遮之骨外，再无他器能由他亲手击倒那背叛诸神的巨魔——唯有达提遮的骨骸可为其因缘。此段彰显牺牲的道德法则：天众之胜，不仅凭武力，更赖正行苦行者以清净自献所成的神圣助力。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights that righteous power and victory may depend on self-sacrifice and sanctity rather than ordinary force; Dadhīca’s ascetic merit becomes the decisive ‘weapon,’ implying that ethical and spiritual capital can determine outcomes in cosmic conflict.
Vaiśampāyana reports that Indra informs the gods that the great enemy of the devas cannot be killed by conventional weapons; only an extraordinary means—Dadhīca’s bones fashioned into a weapon—can accomplish the slaying.