Shloka 168
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 3 — Janamejaya’s Rite, Dhaumya’s Parīkṣā, and Uttanka’s Kuṇḍala Quest (सर्पसत्रप्रस्तावना–गुरुपरीक्षा–उत्तङ्कोपाख्यान)
यश्नैनमधिरूढ: पुरुष: स चेन्द्रो यदपि ते भक्षितं तस्य ऋषभस्य पुरीषं तदमृतं तेन खल्वसि तस्मिन् नागभवने न व्यापन्नस्त्वम्,“और जो उसपर चढ़ा हुआ पुरुष था, वह इन्द्र है। तुमने बैलके जिस गोबरको खाया है, वह अमृत था। इसीलिये तुम नागलोकमें जाकर भी मरे नहीं
yasyainam adhirūḍhaḥ puruṣaḥ sa cendro yad api te bhakṣitaṃ tasya ṛṣabhasya purīṣaṃ tad amṛtaṃ tena khalv asi tasmin nāgabhavane na vyāpannas tvam
Rama sprach: „Der Mann, der auf jenem Stier ritt, war Indra selbst. Und der Dung jenes Stieres, den du gegessen hast, war in Wahrheit Amṛta. Wegen dieser nektargleichen Substanz bist du, selbst als du die Wohnstatt der Nāgas erreichtest, nicht umgekommen.“
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights that divine agency can operate through unexpected means: what appears impure or insignificant (the bull’s dung) may, by divine association, become life-preserving like amṛta. Ethically, it underscores humility in judgment and the idea that protection may arise from unseen merit or grace.
Rama explains that the rider on the bull was Indra. He tells the listener that the bull’s dung they consumed was actually amṛta, and that this is the reason the listener survived even after reaching the Nāgas’ abode.