Shloka 27
Śṛṅgī’s Curse on King Parikṣit
Parikṣit–Śṛṅgī–Takṣaka Causal Link
अपरे त्वब्रुवंस्तत्र नागा: पण्डितमानिन:,इसपर अपनेको पण्डित माननेवाले दूसरे नाग बोल उठे--“हम जनमेजयको पकड़कर डँस लेंगे।' ऐसा करनेसे तुरंत ही सब काम बन जायगा। उस राजाके मरनेपर हमारे लिये अनर्थोकी जड़ ही कट जायगी
apare tv abruvaṃs tatra nāgāḥ paṇḍita-māninaḥ | “vayaṃ janamejayaṃ pakṛtya daṃśiṣyāmaḥ; evaṃ kṛte sadyaḥ sarva-kāryaṃ bhaviṣyati. tasya rājñaḥ maraṇe ’smākaṃ kṛte ’narthasya mūlaṃ chinnaṃ bhaviṣyati.”
Then other serpents there—self-styled as wise—spoke up: “We will seize Janamejaya and bite him. If we do that, everything will be accomplished at once. When that king dies, the very root of our calamity will be cut off.” The verse highlights a counsel driven by fear and expediency, proposing assassination as a shortcut to safety, and thereby raising the ethical tension between self-preservation and adharma.
शेष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse exposes how ‘self-proclaimed wisdom’ can rationalize adharma: fear and urgency tempt one toward violent shortcuts (killing the king) as a means to end suffering. It implicitly warns that expedient counsel, when rooted in anger or panic, undermines dharma and invites further consequences.
In the serpents’ deliberation, a faction of Nāgas proposes a direct solution: capture King Janamejaya and bite him to death, believing that his death will immediately end the threat to them by removing the source of their impending calamity.