Shloka 12
Jaradkāru Encounters the Pitṛs
Jaratkāru-Pitṛdarśana
शुंग्युवाच योडसौ वृद्धस्य तातस्य तथा कृच्छुगतस्य ह । स्कन्धे मृतं समास्राक्षीत् पन्नगं राजकिल्बिषी,शृंगी बोला--जिस पापात्मा नरेशने वैसे धर्म-संकटमें पड़े हुए मेरे बूढ़े पिताके कंधेपर मरा साँप रख दिया है, ब्राह्मगोंका अपमान करनेवाले उस कुरुकुलकलंक पापी परीक्षित्को आजसे सात रातके बाद प्रचण्ड तेजस्वी पन्नगोत्तम तक्षक नामक विषैला नाग अत्यन्त कोपमें भरकर मेरे वाक्यबलसे प्रेरित हो यमलोक पहुँचा देगा
śṛṅgy uvāca | yo 'sau vṛddhasya tātasya tathā kṛcchragatasya ha | skandhe mṛtaṃ samāsrākṣīt pannagaṃ rāja-kilbiṣī |
Śṛṅgī said: “That sinful king—who, when my aged father was in distress, placed a dead serpent upon his shoulder—shall, for this offense and his contempt for a brāhmaṇa, be driven by the force of my utterance. After seven nights from today, the mighty serpent-king Takṣaka, blazing with wrath, will send Parīkṣit to the realm of Yama.”
कृश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical weight of honoring ascetics and brāhmaṇas, and the grave consequences that can follow from arrogance or disrespect—especially by a ruler. It also implicitly warns against uncontrolled anger, since a rash curse can set irreversible harm in motion.
After King Parīkṣit insults the sage Śamīka by placing a dead snake on his shoulder, Śamīka’s son Śṛṅgī, enraged, declares a curse: within seven nights the nāga Takṣaka will kill Parīkṣit, sending him to Yama’s realm.