Shloka 11
Karma, Preta-gati, and the Continuity of Phala
Mārkaṇḍeya’s Instruction
सर्प उवाच नहुषो नाम राजाहमासं पूर्वस्तवानघ । प्रथित: पजचम: सोमादायो: पुत्रो नराधिप,सर्प बोला--निष्पाप नरेश! मैं पूर्वजन्ममें तुम्हारा विख्यात पूर्वज नहुष नामका राजा था। चन्द्रमासे पाँचवीं पीढ़ीमें जो आयु नामक राजा हुए थे, उन्हींका मैं पुत्र हूँ
sarpa uvāca | nahuṣo nāma rājāham āsaṃ pūrvas tavānagha | prathitaḥ pañcamaḥ somād āyoḥ putro narādhipa ||
The serpent said: “O sinless king, in a former birth I was your renowned ancestor, the king named Nahuṣa. O ruler of men, I am the celebrated fifth in descent from Soma (the Moon), the son of Āyu.”
सर्प उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical weight of lineage and past identity: one’s present condition may conceal a prior status, and recognition of ancestry and former deeds frames moral reflection in the narrative.
A serpent speaks to a king and reveals his true identity: he was formerly the famous king Nahuṣa, connected to the lunar dynasty as a descendant of Soma and as the son of Āyu.