Shloka 12
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 97: Satyavatī’s appeal and Bhīṣma’s reaffirmation of satya
किमिदं नष्टरूपा: स्थ कच्चित् क्षेमं दिवौकसाम् | तामूचुर्वसवो देवा: शप्ता: स्मो वै महानदि
kim idaṁ naṣṭarūpāḥ stha kaccit kṣemaṁ divaukasām | tām ūcur vasavo devāḥ śaptāḥ smo vai mahānadi
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “What is this—why do you appear bereft of your former splendor? Is all well with the dwellers of heaven?” Then the Vasus, the gods, replied to her: “O great river, we have indeed been cursed.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even divine beings are not exempt from moral causality: a curse signifies the working of dharma and karma, where wrongdoing or transgression leads to loss of splendor and a compelled change of state.
The speaker asks why the gods (the Vasus) look diminished and whether heaven is safe; the Vasus answer the addressed ‘great river’ (Gaṅgā) that they have been cursed, setting up the cause for their impending descent and related events.