Shloka 15
Vālakhilya-Tapas and the Birth of Garuḍa (वालखिल्यतपः-गरुडोत्पत्तिः)
किमाह्त्य विदित्वा वा कि वा कृत्वेह पौरुषम् दास्याद् वो विप्रमुच्येयं तथ्यं वदत लेलिहा:,“जीभ लपलपानेवाले सर्पो! तुमलोग सच-सच बताओ मैं तुम्हें क्या लाकर दे दूँ? किस विद्याका लाभ करा दूँ अथवा यहाँ कौन-सा पुरुषार्थ करके दिखा दूँ: जिससे मुझे तथा मेरी माताको तुम्हारी दासतासे छुटकारा मिल जाय”
kim āhṛtya viditvā vā kiṃ vā kṛtveha pauruṣam | dāsyād vo vipramucyeyaṃ tathyaṃ vadata lelihāḥ ||
«Sagt mir die Wahrheit, ihr züngelnden Schlangen: Was soll ich euch bringen, welches Wissen soll ich erwerben, oder welche Heldentat soll ich hier vollbringen, damit ich und meine Mutter aus eurer Knechtschaft entlassen werden?»
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds ethical responsibility and truth: the speaker seeks a truthful, lawful means—through offering, learning, or heroic effort—to end an unjust bondage affecting both himself and his mother, emphasizing duty-bound action guided by honesty.
In a tense exchange with serpents, the speaker (addressed as ‘the grandsire’) asks them to state plainly what requirement must be fulfilled—bringing something, gaining some knowledge, or performing a feat—so that he and his mother can be freed from servitude to them.