Shloka 8
सर्पसत्रे हुतानां नागानां नामपरिगणनम् | Enumeration of Nāgas Consumed in the Sarpasatra Fire
एवं शतसहस्राणि प्रयुतान्यर्बुदानि च । अवशानि विनष्टानि पन्नगानां तु तत्र वै,इस प्रकार लाखों, करोड़ों तथा अरबों सर्प वहाँ विवश होकर नष्ट हो गये
evam śatasahasrāṇi prayutāny arbudāni ca | avaśāni vinaṣṭāni pannagānāṁ tu tatra vai ||
Janamejaya said: “Thus, in that place, hundreds of thousands—indeed tens of millions and even hundreds of millions—of serpents, helpless and unable to resist, were destroyed.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral gravity of unchecked vengeance: when retaliation becomes indiscriminate, vast numbers of beings die helplessly, urging reflection on restraint, compassion, and the ruler’s duty to avoid disproportionate harm.
Janamejaya describes the outcome of the serpent-sacrifice context: enormous multitudes of serpents, unable to defend themselves, are being destroyed ‘there’—emphasizing the scale and inevitability of the slaughter.