Shloka 7
Vyāsa’s Arrival at Janamejaya’s Sarpasatra; Commissioning of Vaiśaṃpāyana’s Recital (व्यासागमनम्)
जनमेजयस्य वो यज्ञे धक्ष्यत्यनिलसारथि: । तत्र पञठ्चत्वमापन्ना: प्रेतलोक॑ गमिष्यथ
janamejayasya vo yajñe dhakṣyaty anilasārathiḥ | tatra pañcatvam āpannāḥ pretalokaṁ gamiṣyatha ||
Āstīka dijo: «En el sacrificio del rey Janamejaya, el Fuego—con el viento por auriga—os consumirá. Allí hallaréis vuestro fin y, muertos, iréis al reino de los difuntos».
आस्तीक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions that violate truth, trust, and duty—especially within binding vows—carry consequences that may unfold later with full force; the verse frames destruction in the sacrificial fire as the ethical result of prior wrongdoing.
Āstīka refers to the destined outcome for the serpents: in Janamejaya’s great sacrifice they will be drawn into the fire and perish, going to the realm of the dead—an allusion to the later sarpa-satra (snake-sacrifice) that becomes central to the Adi Parva narrative.