Shloka 164
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 3 — Janamejaya’s Rite, Dhaumya’s Parīkṣā, and Uttanka’s Kuṇḍala Quest (सर्पसत्रप्रस्तावना–गुरुपरीक्षा–उत्तङ्कोपाख्यान)
पथि गच्छता च मया ऋषभो दृष्टस्तं च पुरुषो5धिरूढस्तेनास्मि सोपचारमुक्त उत्तड़कास्य ऋषभस्य पुरीषं भक्षय उपाध्यायेनापि ते भक्षितमिति,इधरसे जाते समय मार्गमें मैंने एक बैल देखा, उसपर एक पुरुष सवार था। उस पुरुषने मुझसे आग्रहपूर्वक कहा--'उत्तंक! इस बैलका गोबर खा लो। तुम्हारे उपाध्यायने भी पहले इसे खाया है”
pathi gacchatā ca mayā ṛṣabho dṛṣṭaḥ; taṃ ca puruṣo 'dhirūḍhaḥ. tenāsmi sopacāram uktaḥ—“uttaṅka, asya ṛṣabhasya purīṣaṃ bhakṣaya; upādhyāyenāpi te bhakṣitam iti.”
As I was travelling along the road, I saw a bull, and a man mounted upon it. That rider addressed me with insistent courtesy and said: “Uttaṅka, eat the dung of this bull. Your own teacher has eaten it before.”
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights a classic dharmic tension: a disciple is confronted with an unpleasant command presented as sanctioned by the guru. The ethical focus is on disciplined obedience combined with trust in the teacher’s larger intent, while also implying the need for inner steadiness when dharma appears counterintuitive.
While travelling, Uttaṅka meets a bull with a rider. The rider urges him to eat the bull’s dung, claiming that Uttaṅka’s own teacher had done so earlier. This functions as a trial within Uttaṅka’s journey, setting up later consequences and revelations in the broader Uttaṅka storyline.