Shloka 18
Udyoga Parva, Adhyaya 104: Nārada on Suhṛt and Nirbandha; the Viśvāmitra–Gālava Exemplum Begins
कण्व उवाच स तस्य वचन श्रुत्वा खगस्योदर्कदारुणम् । अक्षोभ्यं क्षोभयंस्ताक्ष्यमुवाच रथचक्रभूत्
kaṇva uvāca | sa tasya vacanaṃ śrutvā khagasyodarkadāruṇam | akṣobhyaṃ kṣobhayaṃs tākṣyam uvāca rathacakrabhūt ||
Kaṇva said: “Hearing those words of the bird—words whose outcome was dreadful—Rathacakra-bhṛt (Viṣṇu), while deliberately provoking the normally unshakable Tākṣya (Garuḍa), spoke.”
कण्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical caution about pride and self-glorification: even one who is ‘unshakable’ can be challenged through provocation, and inflated self-assessment invites corrective speech that restores humility and restraint.
Kaṇva narrates that after hearing the bird’s ominous words, Viṣṇu (identified by the cakra epithet) addresses Garuḍa (Tākṣya), intentionally stirring him—setting up a confrontation in which Garuḍa’s self-assertion is checked.