Shloka 38

प्रह्लादचरितम् (हिरण्यकशिपोः स्वर्गापहरणं, प्रह्लादस्य विष्णुभक्तिः, उपदेशः)

Devanagari script

इत्य् उक्तास् तेन ते सर्पाः कुहकास् तक्षकादयः अदंशन्त समस्तेषु गात्रेष्व् अतिविषोल्बणाः

Transliteration

ity uktās tena te sarpāḥ kuhakās takṣakādayaḥ adaṃśanta samasteṣu gātreṣv ativiṣolbaṇāḥ

Translation

Thus addressed by him, those serpents—deceitful and venom-fierce, led by Takṣaka—bit into all his limbs at once, their poison raging with overwhelming force.

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha/Quotation marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण-समाप्ति सूचक

• उक्ताः: having been told/commanded
• उक्ताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √वच् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘addressed/commanded’

• तेन: by him
• तेन: Kartr-karana/Agent-instrument (By him/तेन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3/तृतीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ते: those
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• सर्पाः: snakes
• सर्पाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• कुहकाः: deceitful ones
• कुहकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुहक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; विशेषणार्थे (deceitful)

• तक्षक-आदयः: Takṣaka and others
• तक्षक-आदयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तक्षक (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; ‘तक्षकः आदिः येषाम्’ (Takṣaka and others)

• अदंशन्त: they bit
• अदंशन्त: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दंश् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• समस्तेषु: in all
• समस्तेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7/सप्तमी), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying gātreṣu)

• गात्रेषु: in the limbs
• गात्रेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7/सप्तमी), बहुवचन

• अति-विष-उल्बणाः: exceedingly venomous, very fierce
• अति-विष-उल्बणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + विष (प्रातिपदिक) + उल्बण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; विशेषण (snakes: exceedingly venomous/strong)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The specific modes of persecution used against Prahlāda and their failure.

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: authoritative

Prahlada Narrative

Phase: Persecution

Bhakti Quality: Inner absorption that renders bodily harm insignificant (deha-avajñā from bhagavat-smṛti).

Persecution: Serpents

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Takṣaka
• Serpents (Nāgas)

FAQs

What is the significance of Takṣaka and the serpents in this verse of the Vishnu Purana?

Takṣaka functions as the leading agent of retribution: the verse depicts an immediate, overwhelming serpent-bite that signals the inescapability of karmic consequence within the dynastic narrative.

How does Sage Parāśara frame the idea of consequence and fate here?

By emphasizing that the serpents bite “all the limbs at once” with intensified venom, Parāśara presents consequence as swift and total—an expression of moral causality operating through the events of royal history.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purana’s worldview assumes a Vishnu-governed cosmic order: historical turns—rise and fall, punishment and protection—unfold within that sovereign framework of dharma and ṛta.