Shloka 22
Garuḍa’s Breach of the Amṛta-Guard and Boons with Viṣṇu; Encounter with Indra (Ādi-parva, Adhyāya 29)
- नियन्तुं न हि शक््यस्त्वं भेदतो धनमिच्छसि । यस्मात् तस्मात् सुप्रतीक हस्तित्वं समवाप्स्यसि,'सुप्रतीक! तुम्हें वशमें करना असम्भव हो रहा है और तुम भेदभावके कारण ही बँटवारा करके धन लेना चाहते हो, इसलिये तुम्हें हाथीकी योनिमें जन्म लेना पड़ेगा”
niyantuṁ na hi śakyas tvaṁ bhedato dhanam icchasi | yasmāt tasmāt supratīka hastitvaṁ samavāpsyasi ||
Kāśyapa said: “You cannot be restrained; and, driven by divisive thinking, you insist on taking wealth only by partition. Therefore, Supratīka, you shall attain the state of an elephant—be born in an elephant’s womb.”
कश्यप उवाच
Educational Q&A
Uncontrolled impulses and divisive greed (seeking wealth through separation and contention) invite adverse consequences; self-restraint and non-partisanship are implied ethical ideals.
The sage Kaśyapa addresses Supratīka, declaring him impossible to restrain and, because he seeks wealth through division, pronounces that he will be born as an elephant—an instance of a curse leading to transformation.