Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 23
नारदस्य वच: श्रुत्वा क्रुद्धः प्राज्वलदड्धिरा: । अपिबत् तेजसा वारि विष्ट भ्य सुमहातपा:
nāradāsya vacaḥ śrutvā kruddhaḥ prājvalad aṅgirāḥ | apibat tejasā vāri viṣṭabhya sumahātapāḥ ||
Hearing Nārada’s words, Utathya—the son of Aṅgiras—blazed up in anger. That great ascetic, relying on the power of his austerity, checked the waters and began to drink them up by his spiritual radiance.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between spiritual power (tapas/tejas) and self-control: even a great ascetic can be driven by anger to use extraordinary power in a forceful, potentially harmful way, implying that mastery over krodha is integral to dharma.
After hearing Nārada’s statement, Utathya becomes enraged; empowered by his austerities, he restrains the waters and begins to drink them up through his tejas, demonstrating the formidable potency attributed to sages in epic narrative.