Shloka 37

Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 47 — Janamejaya’s Sarpa-satra: Vow, Preparation, and the Onset of the Serpent Offering

Devanagari script

तदलब्धवतीं मन्दां कि मां वक्ष्यति वासुकि: । मातृशापाभि भूतानां ज्ञातीनां मम सत्तम,उनके ऐसा कहनेपर अनिन्‍्द्य सुन्दरी जरत्कारु भाईके कार्यकी चिन्ता और पतिके वियोगजनित शोकमें डूब गयी। उसका मुँह सूख गया, नेत्रोंमें आँसू छलक आये और हृदय काँपने लगा। फिर किसी प्रकार धैर्य धारण करके सुन्दर जाँघों और मनोहर शरीरवाली वह नागकन्या हाथ जोड़ गदगद वाणीमें जरत्कारु मुनिसे बोली--'धर्मज्ञ! आप सदा धर्ममें स्थित रहनेवाले हैं। मैं भी पत्नी-धर्ममें स्थित तथा आप प्रियतमके हितमें लगी रहनेवाली हूँ। आपको मुझ निरपराध अबलाका त्याग नहीं करना चाहिये। द्विजश्रेष्ठ! मेरे भाईने जिस उद्देश्यको लेकर आपके साथ मेरा विवाह किया था, मैं मन्दरभागिनी अबतक उसे पा न सकी। नागराज वासुकि मुझसे क्या कहेंगे? साधुशिरोमणे! मेरे कुटुम्बीजन माताके शापसे दबे हुए हैं। उन्हें मेरे द्वारा आपसे एक संतानकी प्राप्ति अभीष्ट थी, किंतु उसका भी अबतक दर्शन नहीं हुआ। आपसे पुत्रकी प्राप्ति हो जाय तो उसके द्वारा मेरे जाति-भाइयोंका कल्याण हो सकता है

Transliteration

tad alabdhavatīṁ mandāṁ ki māṁ vakṣyati vāsukiḥ | mātṛśāpābhibhūtānāṁ jñātīnāṁ mama sattama ||

Translation

Takshaka said: “I, unfortunate and still unfulfilled in my purpose—what will Vāsuki say to me? O best of men, my kinsmen are crushed under our mother’s curse.” In context, the Nāga maiden (Jaratkāru’s wife) is overwhelmed by anxiety for her brother’s mission and by grief at the prospect of separation from her husband. Regaining composure, she appeals to the sage on ethical grounds: she is devoted to wifely duty and to his welfare, and he should not abandon an innocent woman. The marriage was arranged to secure a child who could become the means of deliverance for her cursed lineage; without that offspring, her duty to her family and the hope of their welfare remain unfulfilled.

Word by Word

तत्that (thing)

अलब्धवतीम्one who has not obtained (it)

मन्दाम्unfortunate / slow-witted (here: unfortunate)

किम्what

माम्me

वक्ष्यतिwill say

वासुकिःVāsuki

मातृशापाभिभूतानाम्of those overcome by the mother's curse

ज्ञातीनाम्of kinsmen

ममmy

सत्तमO best of the good / O excellent one

Speaker

तक्षक उवाच

Characters & Entities

Takṣaka

Vāsuki

Jaratkāru (sage)

Jaratkāru (Nāga maiden, wife of the sage)

Nāgas (serpent clan)

Mother of the Nāgas (as the source of the curse)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage foregrounds dharma as responsibility: personal relationships (husband–wife) and collective obligations (duty to one’s lineage) are intertwined. The ethical appeal is that abandoning an innocent spouse and neglecting the intended duty of producing an heir can harm not only individuals but an entire community seeking relief from a curse.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Jaratkāru episode, the Nāga maiden fears that the purpose of her marriage—obtaining a child who can aid the Nāgas—has not yet been achieved. She worries about what her brother Vāsuki will say and laments that her relatives remain oppressed by their mother’s curse, urging the sage not to leave before the hoped-for offspring is born.