Shloka 12
Vasiṣṭhāpavāha: Sarasvatī’s Diversion and Viśvāmitra’s Curse (वसिष्ठापवाहः)
अवाकीर्णे सरस्वत्यास्तीर्थे प्रज्वजाल्य पावकम्,क्रोधेन महता5<विष्टो धर्मात्मा वै प्रतापवान् | वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--राजन! ब्राह्मणत्वकी प्राप्ति करानेवाले उस तीर्थसे प्रस्थित होकर यदुनन्दन बलरामजी “अवाकीर्ण' तीर्थमें गये, जहाँ आश्रममें रहते हुए महातपस्वी धर्मात्मा एवं प्रतापी दलभपुत्र बकने महान् क्रोधमें भरकर घोर तपस्याद्वारा अपने शरीरको सुखाते हुए विचित्रवीर्यकुमार राजा धृतराष्ट्रके राष्ट्रका होम कर दिया था महाराज! सरस्वतीके अवाकीर्णतीर्थमें अग्नि प्रजलित करके महातपस्वी दल्भपुत्र बक उत्तम नियमका आश्रय ले उन मृत पशुओंके मांसोंद्वारा ही उनके राष्ट्रका हवन करने लगे
vaiśampāyana uvāca | avākīrṇe sarasvatyās tīrthe prajvālālya pāvakam, krodhena mahatāviṣṭo dharmātmā vai pratāpavān |
Vaiśampāyana said: At the Sarasvatī’s sacred ford called Avākīrṇa, that righteous and mighty ascetic—seized by immense wrath—kindled the sacrificial fire. There the tale recalls how a sage of severe austerities, inflamed with anger, performed a fierce rite that symbolically “offered” (consumed) a kingdom in the fire, showing how tapas and ritual power, when driven by krodha, can become ethically perilous and socially destructive.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a person described as dharmātmā (righteous) can become dangerous when overtaken by krodha (anger). The verse frames ritual and ascetic power as morally double-edged: when guided by restraint it supports dharma, but when fueled by wrath it can turn into destructive force.
Vaiśampāyana points to the Sarasvatī pilgrimage spot called Avākīrṇa, where a powerful ascetic kindles a sacrificial fire while seized by great anger. The surrounding narrative context (as preserved in the Gītā Press prose) connects this place with a severe rite in which a kingdom is ‘offered’/consumed in the fire, underscoring the potency—and peril—of such acts.