Shloka 5
Āstīka-stuti at Janamejaya’s Sacrifice (आस्तीकस्तुतिः / यज्ञप्रशंसा)
वहन्तं राजशार्दूल स्कन्धेनानपकारिणम् | तपस्विनमतीवाथ त॑ मुनिप्रवरं नूप
janamejaya uvāca | vahantaṁ rājaśārdūla skandhenānapakāriṇam | tapasvinam atīvātha taṁ munipravaraṁ nṛpa ||
Janamejaya said: “O tiger among kings, O ruler—he was carrying upon his shoulder a harmless creature, and yet that foremost of sages, a great ascetic, was treated with contempt. Though he had committed no offense, your father Parīkṣit insulted that best of munis—an elder devoted to austerity and self-restraint—by placing a dead snake upon his shoulder while the sage sat in silent absorption.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a powerful king must uphold dharma by showing restraint and reverence toward ascetics; insulting an innocent, self-controlled sage is an ethical failure that invites grave consequences.
Janamejaya recounts the incident that provoked Śṛṅgī: King Parīkṣit, angered by the sage’s silence, placed a dead snake on the sage’s shoulder—an act of disrespect that leads to the famous curse and sets the stage for the snake-sacrifice narrative.