Shloka 5
आस्तीक-वरप्रदानम् (Āstīka’s Boon and the Interruption of the Sarpa-satra)
तक्षकं सम्प्रदीप्तेड5ग्नौ प्रक्षिपेयं सबान्धवम् । यथा तेन पिता महां पूर्व दग्धो विषाग्निना । तथाहमपि तं पापं दग्धुमिच्छामि पन्नगम्,'ब्राह्मणो! जिस दुरात्मा तक्षकने मेरे पिताकी हत्या की है, उससे मैं उसी प्रकारका बदला लेना चाहता हूँ। इसके लिये मुझे क्या करना चाहिये, यह आपलोग बतावें। क्या आपलोगोंको ऐसा कोई कर्म विदित है जिसके द्वारा मैं तक्षक नागको उसके बन्धु- बान्धवोंसहित जलती हुई आगमें झोंक सकूँ? उसने अपनी विषाग्निसे पूर्वकालमें मेरे पिताको जिस प्रकार दग्ध किया था, उसी प्रकार मैं भी उस पापी सर्पको जलाकर भस्म कर देना चाहता हूँ!
janamejaya uvāca | takṣakaṃ sampradīpte 'gnau prakṣipeyaṃ sabāndhavam | yathā tena pitā mahān pūrvaṃ dagdho viṣāgninā | tathāham api taṃ pāpaṃ dagdhum icchāmi pannagam |
Janamejaya said: “I wish to cast Takṣaka, together with all his kin, into a blazing fire. Just as that serpent once burned my noble father with the fire of his venom, so I too desire to burn that sinful nāga. O brāhmaṇa, tell me what I should do—do you know of any rite by which Takṣaka can be hurled into the flames along with his relatives?”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical tension between retributive justice and destructive vengeance: Janamejaya’s grief and anger seek a ritual means to annihilate not only the offender (Takṣaka) but also his entire kin, raising questions about proportionality, collective punishment, and the proper limits of royal action under dharma.
King Janamejaya, remembering that Takṣaka killed his father Parikṣit with venom, addresses brāhmaṇas and asks for a ritual method to cast Takṣaka—along with his relatives—into a blazing fire, foreshadowing the serpent-sacrifice (sarpa-satra) undertaken as retaliation.