Shloka 183
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 3 — Janamejaya’s Rite, Dhaumya’s Parīkṣā, and Uttanka’s Kuṇḍala Quest (सर्पसत्रप्रस्तावना–गुरुपरीक्षा–उत्तङ्कोपाख्यान)
होतुमर्हसि तं पापं ज्वलिते हव्यवाहने । सर्पसत्रे महाराज त्वरितं तद् विधीयताम्,अतः महाराज! आप सर्पयज्ञका अनुष्ठान करके उसकी प्रज्वलित अग्निमें उस पापीको होम दीजिये; और जल्दी-से-जल्दी यह कार्य कर डालिये
hotum arhasi taṃ pāpaṃ jvalite havyavāhane | sarpasatre mahārāja tvaritaṃ tad vidhīyatām ||
قال أوتّانكا: «أيها الملك، ينبغي لك أن تُقدِّم ذلك الآثم قربانًا في النار المتأجِّجة. فلتُقمْ ذبيحةُ الأفاعي (سَرْبَسَتْرَ)، وليُنجَزْ هذا الفعل بلا إبطاء».
उत्तड़क उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse urges the king to respond to grave wrongdoing through decisive, socially sanctioned action—here, a formal sacrifice—linking moral outrage to an authorized ritual framework and emphasizing promptness in upholding perceived justice.
Uttanka addresses the king and presses him to commence the serpent-sacrifice and to consign the ‘sinner’ to the sacrificial fire, demanding immediate execution of the rite as a corrective act.