Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 38
Sarasvatī-Śāpavimokṣa, Rākṣasa-Mokṣa, and Aruṇā-Tīrtha
Indra–Namuci Expiation
अब्रवीद् दुःखसंक्रुद्धो विश्वामित्रो हामर्षण: । यस्मान्मां त्वं सरिच्छेछ्ठे वज्चयित्वा पुनर्गता
abravīd duḥkhasaṁkruddho viśvāmitro hāmarṣaṇaḥ | yasmān māṁ tvaṁ saricchreṣṭhe vañcayitvā punar gatā ||
Viśvāmitra, inflamed with grief and anger, spoke in bitter resentment: “O best of rivers, since you have deceived me and then gone away again…”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how grief can quickly harden into anger and resentment, leading to accusatory speech. Ethically, it cautions that when one feels wronged or deceived, reacting from wounded emotion can intensify conflict rather than restore dharma.
Vasiṣṭha narrates that Viśvāmitra, distressed and furious, addresses a river—calling her ‘best of rivers’—and accuses her of deceiving him and then returning again, setting up a confrontation driven by perceived betrayal.
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