Shloka 66
Nāgendra–Brāhmaṇa Saṃvāda: Praśna-vidhi and Dharmic Approach on the Gomatī Riverbank
ऊचतुश्च समाविष्टौ रजसा तमसा च तौ । अयं स पुरुष: श्वेत: शेते निद्रामुपागत:
ūcatuś ca samāviṣṭau rajasā tamasā ca tau | ayaṃ sa puruṣaḥ śvetaḥ śete nidrām upāgataḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana sprach: Von den Kräften der Leidenschaft und der Finsternis überwältigt, begannen jene beiden Asuras zueinander zu reden: „Dieser hellfarbige Mensch liegt hier, im Schlaf versunken. Gewiss ist er es, der die Veden aus Rasātala gestohlen hat. Wessen Sohn ist er—wer ist er—und warum schläft er hier auf einem Lager aus Schlangenkörper?“
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how rajas (agitation) and tamas (delusion) distort perception and judgment: the asuras, driven by these guṇas, hastily attribute a grave wrongdoing (theft of the Vedas) to the sleeping, radiant Person, illustrating ethical error born from inner imbalance.
Two asuras, overwhelmed by rajas and tamas, see a fair-colored Person asleep on a serpent-like couch and, suspecting him of having stolen the Vedas from Rasātala, question his identity and lineage and the reason for his sleeping there.