Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 37
Sarasvatī-Śāpavimokṣa, Rākṣasa-Mokṣa, and Aruṇā-Tīrtha
Indra–Namuci Expiation
ततो<पवाहितं दृष्टवा वसिष्ठमृषिसत्तमम्
tato ’pavāhitaṃ dṛṣṭvā vasiṣṭham ṛṣisattamam | śoṇitaṃ vaha kalyāṇi rakṣogrāmaṇisammatam ||
Then, seeing the foremost sage Vasiṣṭha carried away by the current, the speaker commands: “O auspicious Sarasvatī, flow with blood—blood that is dear to the leaders of the rākṣasas.” In the narrative frame, this is an outburst of wrath and wounded pride: a sacred river is coerced to become an instrument of vengeance, showing how anger can invert dharma by turning what is purifying into what is destructive.
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Uncontrolled anger and humiliation can distort one’s sense of dharma, attempting to weaponize even sacred forces; the episode warns that spiritual or natural powers should not be bent toward cruelty and revenge.
After Vasiṣṭha is seen swept away by the river, the enraged speaker addresses Sarasvatī and orders her to flow with blood instead of water—an extreme curse-like command aimed at empowering destructive beings (rākṣasa chiefs).
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