Shloka 26
Garuḍa’s Breach of the Amṛta-Guard and Boons with Viṣṇu; Encounter with Indra (Ādi-parva, Adhyāya 29)
सरस्यस्मिन् महाकायोौ पूर्ववैरानुसारिणौ । तयोरन्यतर: श्रीमान् समुपैति महागज:,रोष और लोभरूपी दोषके सम्बन्धसे उन दोनोंको तिर्यक्-योनिमें जाना पड़ा है। वे दोनों विशालकाय जन्तु पूर्व जन्मके वैरका अनुसरण करके अपनी विशालता और बलके घमण्डमें चूर हो एक-दूसरेसे द्वेष रखते हुए इस सरोवरमें रहते हैं। इन दोनोंमें एक जो सुन्दर महान् गजराज है, वह जब सरोवरके तटपर आता है, तब उसके चिग्घाड़नेकी आवाज सुनकर जलके भीतर शयन करनेवाला विशालकाय कछुआ भी पानीसे ऊपर उठता है। उस समय वह सारे सरोवरको मथ डालता है
sarasy asmin mahākāyau pūrvavairānusāriṇau | tayor anyataraḥ śrīmān samupaiti mahāgajaḥ ||
Kāśyapa said: “In this lake dwell two huge creatures, driven by the momentum of enmity from a former life. Of the two, one is a splendid great elephant; when he approaches the shore, the other—his rival—stirs in response. Thus is it shown how anger and greed, once indulged, can drag beings into lower births and bind them to recurring hostility, even beyond death.”
कश्यप उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unresolved hatred (pūrva-vaira) can persist across lives, and how moral faults like anger and greed can lead to degraded states and continued suffering through recurring conflict.
Kaśyapa describes two enormous beings living in a lake, still driven by an old enmity. One of them, a magnificent great elephant, approaches the lake—setting the stage for the rival’s reaction and the ensuing disturbance.