Shloka 38
Karma, Preta-gati, and the Continuity of Phala
Mārkaṇḍeya’s Instruction
सर्प उवाच श्रुतं विदितवेद्यस्थ तव वाक्य युधिष्ठिर । भक्षयेयमहं कस्माद् भ्रातरं ते वकोदरम्,सर्प बोला--युधिष्ठिर! तुम जाननेयोग्य सभी बातें जानते हो। मैंने तुम्हारी बात अच्छी तरह सुन ली। अब मैं तुम्हारे भाई भीमसेनको कैसे खा सकता हूँ?
sarpa uvāca
śrutaṁ vidita-vedya-stha tava vākyaṁ yudhiṣṭhira |
bhakṣayeyam ahaṁ kasmād bhrātaraṁ te vakodaram ||
The serpent said: “Yudhiṣṭhira, I have heard your words well; you stand grounded in what is to be known and understood. In that case, on what grounds could I now devour your brother Bhīma—he of the mighty belly?”
सर्प उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ethical speech grounded in true knowledge can transform hostility: the serpent acknowledges Yudhiṣṭhira’s wise counsel and implies that such dharmic understanding becomes a moral reason to refrain from harm.
In the forest episode where Bhīma (Vakodara) has been seized by a serpent, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks to the serpent with reasoned, dharma-based words. The serpent responds that it has heard and accepted Yudhiṣṭhira’s statement and questions how it could still devour Bhīma after such counsel.