Shloka 21
Āstīka-stuti at Janamejaya’s Sacrifice (आस्तीकस्तुतिः / यज्ञप्रशंसा)
तक्षक उवाच किमर्थ तं मया दष्टं संजीवयितुमिच्छसि । अहं स तक्षको ब्रह्मन् पश्य मे वीर्यमद्भुतम्
Takṣaka uvāca: kimarthaṁ taṁ mayā daṣṭaṁ saṁjīvayitum icchasi? ahaṁ sa Takṣako brahman paśya me vīryam adbhutam.
Takṣaka said: “For what reason do you wish to restore to life the man whom I have bitten? I am that Takṣaka, O Brahmin—behold my wondrous power.”
तक्षक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between human compassion that tries to undo death and the principle that actions bear inevitable consequences; Takṣaka’s boast underscores how power can be used to assert inevitability and resist moral intervention.
Takṣaka confronts a Brahmin who wishes to revive a person bitten by the serpent; Takṣaka identifies himself and challenges the Brahmin to witness his extraordinary potency, implying that the victim cannot be brought back to life.