Shloka 60
पञ्चाप्सरो-सरः कथनम् तथा अगस्त्याश्रममार्गनिर्देशः
Panchapsara Lake Account and Directions to Agastya
ततो भ्रातुर्वचश्श्रुत्वा वातापिर्मेषवन्नदन्।।।।भित्त्वा भित्त्वा शरीराणि ब्राह्मणानां विनिष्पतत्।
tato bhrātur vacaḥ śrutvā vātāpir meṣavan nadan | bhittvā bhittvā śarīrāṇi brāhmaṇānāṃ viniṣpatat || 3.11.60 ||
瓦塔皮听到兄弟的呼唤，便像公羊一样咩咩叫着冲出来，撕裂了婆罗门的身躯。
Then hearing his brother's voice, Vatapi would bleat like a sheep and jump out, tearing open the bodies of those brahmins.
FAQs
The verse highlights adharma: deception and violence directed at the innocent—especially those engaged in sacred duty—are portrayed as profoundly unrighteous and socially destructive.
In the Ilvala–Vātāpi scheme, Vātāpi (disguised as food) is eaten by unsuspecting brahmins; on Ilvala’s summons he bursts out, killing them.
By contrast (through negation), the virtue implied is ahiṃsā and protection of the righteous—an obligation later taken up by dhārmic heroes and sages.