Shloka 30
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 47 — Janamejaya’s Sarpa-satra: Vow, Preparation, and the Onset of the Serpent Offering
ऋषि: कोपसमाविष्ट स्त्यक्तुकामो भुजजड़माम् | न मे वागनृतं प्राह गमिष्ये5हं भुजड़मे,जब पतिने इस प्रकार हृदयमें कँपकँपी पैदा करनेवाली बात कही, तब उस घरमें स्थित वासुकिकी बहिन इस प्रकार बोली--'विप्रवर! मैंने अपमान करनेके लिये आपको नहीं जगाया था। आपके धर्मका लोप न हो जाय, यही ध्यानमें रखकर मैंने ऐसा किया है।” यह सुनकर क्रोधमें भरे हुए महातपस्वी ऋषि जरत्कारुने अपनी पत्नी नागकन्याको त्याग देनेकी इच्छा रखकर उससे कहा--“नागकन्ये! मैंने कभी झूठी बात मुँहसे नहीं निकाली है, अत: अवश्य जाऊँगा'
Takṣaka uvāca: ṛṣiḥ kopasamāviṣṭaḥ tyaktukāmo bhujaṅgamām | na me vāg anṛtaṃ prāha gamiṣye ’haṃ bhujaṅgame ||
The sage, seized by anger and wishing to abandon his serpent-born wife, declared: “Never has my speech uttered falsehood. Therefore, O serpent-woman, I shall indeed depart.”
तक्षक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds satya (truthfulness) as a binding ethical commitment: the sage frames his departure as compelled by his unwavering adherence to truthful speech, even when anger and marital tension are present.
In the aftermath of a domestic exchange, the sage—angered—announces his intention to abandon his nāga wife. He justifies the decision by asserting that he never speaks falsehood and therefore will carry out what he has declared.