Text 5
yadi vaḥ pradhane śraddhā
sāraṁ vā kṣullakā hṛdi
agre tiṣṭhata mātraṁ me
na ced grāmya-sukhe spṛhā
yadi — if; vaḥ — of you; pradhane — in battle; śraddhā — faith; sāram — patience; vā — or; kṣullakāḥ — O insignificant ones; hṛdi — in the core of the heart; agre — in front; tiṣṭhata — just stand; mātram — for a moment; me — of me; na — not; cet — if; grāmya-sukhe — in sense gratification; spṛhā — desire.
O insignificant demigods, if you truly have faith in your heroism, if you have patience in the cores of your hearts and if you are not ambitious for sense gratification, please stand before me for a moment.
Rebuking the demigods, Vṛtrāsura challenged, “O demigods, if you are actually heroes, stand before me now and try to show your prowess. If you do not wish to fight, if you are afraid of losing your lives, I shall not kill you, for unlike you, I am not so evil minded as to kill persons who are neither heroic nor willing to fight. If you have faith in your heroism, please stand before me.”