Shloka 31
आरण्यकपर्वणि अध्यायः २१६ — इन्द्र-स्कन्द-संमुखता वज्रप्रहारश्च
Indra approaches Skanda; vajra strike and the arising of Viśākha
ततः प्रत्यब्रवीद् वाक्यमृषिर्मा क्रोधमूर्च्छित: । व्याधस्त्वं भविता क्रूर शूद्रयोनाविति द्विज
tataḥ pratyabravīd vākyam ṛṣir mā krodha-mūrcchitaḥ | vyādhas tvaṁ bhavitā krūra śūdra-yonāv iti dvija ||
Then the sage, overcome by a surge of anger, replied: “Cruel one! You shall be born in a Śūdra womb and become a hunter-butcher, O twice-born.” The verse shows how wrath can warp judgment and turn speech into a weapon, setting a karmic consequence in motion as a curse.
व्याध उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that anger (krodha) can eclipse discernment and turn words into harmful acts; such speech, especially from a spiritually authoritative figure, is portrayed as generating serious karmic consequences.
A sage, provoked and overwhelmed by anger, responds by pronouncing a curse-like declaration: the addressed ‘dvija’ will be reborn in a Śūdra womb and live as a vyādha (hunter/butcher), marking a dramatic reversal of status and a moral warning about wrathful speech.