Shloka 34
Brāhmaṇa-māhātmya: Tārkṣya’s instruction on tapas, satya, and svadharma
Chapter 182
ब्रह्मर्षिदेवगन्धर्वयक्षराक्षसपन्नगा: । करान् मम प्रयच्छन्ति सर्वे त्रैलोक्यवासिन:,ब्रह्मर्षि, देवता गन्धर्व, यक्ष, राक्षत और नाग आदि जो भी इस त्रिलोकीमें निवास करनेवाले प्राणी थे, वे सब मुझे कर देते थे
brahmarṣidevagandharvayakṣarākṣasapannagāḥ | karān mama prayacchanti sarve trailokyavāsinaḥ ||
The serpent said: “All who dwell in the three worlds—Brahmarishis, gods, Gandharvas, Yakshas, Rakshasas, and the serpent-folk—used to render tribute (kara) to me.”
सर्प उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how sovereignty is socially and ethically signaled through ‘kara’ (tribute): when beings accept someone’s rule, they pay tribute. It also cautions that claims of universal submission can reflect pride and attachment to power, themes often tested and overturned in epic narratives.
A serpent speaks, boasting or asserting a past status in which all classes of beings across the three worlds—sages, gods, and various supernatural races—paid him tribute, thereby establishing his former dominance and setting up the narrative tension about how that status was gained, maintained, or lost.