Shloka 4
आस्तीक-वरप्रदानम् (Āstīka’s Boon and the Interruption of the Sarpa-satra)
प्रतिकुर्या तथा तस्य तद् भवन्तो ब्रुवन्तु मे । अपि तत् कर्म विदितं भवतां येन पन्नगम्,'ब्राह्मणो! जिस दुरात्मा तक्षकने मेरे पिताकी हत्या की है, उससे मैं उसी प्रकारका बदला लेना चाहता हूँ। इसके लिये मुझे क्या करना चाहिये, यह आपलोग बतावें। क्या आपलोगोंको ऐसा कोई कर्म विदित है जिसके द्वारा मैं तक्षक नागको उसके बन्धु- बान्धवोंसहित जलती हुई आगमें झोंक सकूँ? उसने अपनी विषाग्निसे पूर्वकालमें मेरे पिताको जिस प्रकार दग्ध किया था, उसी प्रकार मैं भी उस पापी सर्पको जलाकर भस्म कर देना चाहता हूँ!
pratikuryā tathā tasya tad bhavanto brūvantu me | api tat karma viditaṃ bhavatāṃ yena pannagam ||
Janamejaya said: “Tell me, revered ones, what I should do so that I may repay him in the same manner. Do you know of any rite or act by which that serpent may be brought under my power and made to suffer the consequence of his deed?” In context, Janamejaya’s words arise from grief and anger over his father’s death at Takṣaka’s hands; he seeks a retaliatory action framed as ‘equal return,’ raising an ethical tension between personal vengeance and righteous restraint.
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the moral problem of retaliation: a king’s impulse to answer harm with equal harm seeks legitimacy through ‘known rites,’ but it also invites scrutiny under dharma—whether justice is being pursued or anger is being ritualized.
Janamejaya addresses respected elders/priests and asks for a method—specifically a known act or rite—by which he can counter Takṣaka’s deed. This request sets the stage for the serpent-sacrifice (sarpa-satra) motif in the surrounding narrative.