Shloka 179

Ādi-parva Adhyāya 3 — Janamejaya’s Rite, Dhaumya’s Parīkṣā, and Uttanka’s Kuṇḍala Quest (सर्पसत्रप्रस्तावना–गुरुपरीक्षा–उत्तङ्कोपाख्यान)

Devanagari script

कार्यकाल हि मन्ये5हं विधिदृष्टस्थ कर्मण: । तद्गच्छापचितिं राजन्‌ पितुस्तस्य महात्मन:,मैं समझता हूँ, शत्रुनाशन-कार्यकी सिद्धिके लिये जो सर्पयज्ञरूप कर्म शास्त्रमें देखा गया है, उसके अनुष्ठानका यह उचित अवसर प्राप्त हुआ है। अतः राजन! अपने महात्मा पिताकी मृत्युका बदला आप अवश्य लें

Transliteration

kāryakāla hi manye 'haṃ vidhidṛṣṭasya karmaṇaḥ | tad gacchāpacitiṃ rājan pituḥ tasya mahātmanaḥ ||

Translation

Uttaṅka sprach: „Ich meine, dies ist die rechte Stunde zum Handeln—für das in den heiligen Satzungen vorgeschriebene Ritual. Darum, o König, geh und fordere die gebührende Vergeltung für den Tod deines edlen Vaters.“

Word by Word

• {'kāryakālaḥ': 'the proper time/opportunity for action', 'hi': 'indeed, surely', 'manye': 'I think, I consider', 'aham': 'I', 'vidhi': 'scriptural injunction

• prescribed rule', 'dṛṣṭa': 'seen/attested (in scripture)

• established', 'karma': 'ritual act

• prescribed rite (here, the serpent-sacrifice as a means of vengeance)', 'tasya': 'of him/that (referring to the father)', 'gaccha': 'go (imperative)', 'apaciti': 'requital, repayment, retribution

• making amends', 'rājan': 'O king', 'pituḥ': 'of (your) father', 'mahātmanaḥ': 'of the great-souled/noble one'}

Speaker

उत्तड़क उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Uttaṅka
• King (Janamejaya, implied)
• Father of the king (Parikṣit, implied)
• Sarpa-yajña (serpent-sacrifice, implied by context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames vengeance as a form of 'apaciti' (requital) sanctioned by 'vidhi' (scriptural injunction), highlighting the tension between personal grief, royal duty, and ritualized notions of justice.

What is happening in the narrative?

Uttaṅka urges the king (implicitly Janamejaya) that the time is ripe to undertake the scripturally attested rite—understood in context as the serpent-sacrifice—to avenge the death of the king’s noble father (implicitly Parikṣit).