Shloka 37

Devanagari script

भो भोः सर्पाः दुराचारम् एनम् अत्यन्तदुर्मतिम् विषज्वालाविलैर् वक्त्रैः सद्यो नयत संक्षयम्

Transliteration

bho bhoḥ sarpāḥ durācāram enam atyantadurmatim viṣajvālāvilair vaktraiḥ sadyo nayata saṃkṣayam

Translation

“Ho! Ho, you serpents—this man is wicked in conduct and utterly perverse in mind. With your mouths blazing with venom-fire, take him at once to destruction.”

Word by Word

• भो: O!
• भो: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भो (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बोधन-निपात (vocative particle)

• भोः: O!
• भोः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भोः (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बोधन-निपात (vocative particle)

• सर्पाः: snakes
• सर्पाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• दुराचारम्: evil-conducted, wicked
• दुराचारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुराचार (प्रातिपदिक) = दुर् + आचार
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying enam)

• एनम्: this one, him
• एनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2/द्वितीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अत्यन्त-दुर्मतिम्: utterly wicked-minded
• अत्यन्त-दुर्मतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अत्यन्त (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + दुर्मति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषण (very evil-minded)

• विष-ज्वाला-विलैः: with mouths having poison-flame hollows (i.e., blazing with venom)
• विष-ज्वाला-विलैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विष (प्रातिपदिक) + ज्वाला (प्रातिपदिक) + विल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3/तृतीया), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying vaktraiḥ)

• वक्त्रैः: with mouths
• वक्त्रैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वक्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3/तृतीया), बहुवचन

• सद्यः: immediately
• सद्यः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सद्यः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (immediately)

• नयत: lead, take
• नयत: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नी (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• संक्षयम्: to destruction, annihilation
• संक्षयम्: Gati/Karma (Goal as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संक्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2/द्वितीया), एकवचन; गत्यर्थ-लक्ष्य (to destruction)

Speaker

Narratorial voice within the Ansha 4 royal-episode context (as recounted by Sage Parāśara to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How the Daitya-king attempted to kill the Vishnu-devotee by various means.

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Cruelty fueled by perverted intellect (durmati) seeks to destroy dharma, yet such violence cannot touch the inner anchoring of a true devotee.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Notice how anger justifies harm; interrupt the escalation from judgment to violence in one’s own speech and decisions.

Vishishtadvaita: The devotee’s protection is grounded in the Lord’s personal sovereignty; ethical order is ultimately safeguarded by Him.

Prahlada Narrative

Phase: Persecution

Bhakti Quality: Unshaken equanimity under threats (akampita-śraddhā).

Persecution: Serpents

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Serpents (Nāgas)

FAQs

What is the significance of serpents (Nāgas) in this Vishnu Purana verse?

They function as agents of punitive justice—executing immediate destruction upon one described as deeply adharmic, reinforcing the Purāṇic theme that cosmic order enforces moral consequence.

How does Sage Parāśara explain moral consequence in such royal-episode narratives?

Through vivid commands and swift outcomes: the text frames adharma (wicked conduct and perverse intent) as inviting rapid retribution, illustrating that kingship and social life remain under dharma’s governance.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the scene reflects Vaishnava Purāṇic theology: the universe is upheld by a sovereign moral order ultimately grounded in Vishnu, with beings and forces acting as instruments of that order.