Shloka 5
अध्याय ५७ — राजोपरिचरवसोः धर्मोपदेशः, सत्यवत्याः उत्पत्तिः, व्यासजन्म च
Adhyāya 57: Indra’s Counsel to King Vasu; Origin of Satyavatī; Birth of Vyāsa
अवशानू् मातृवाग्दण्डपीडिताम् कृपणान् हुतान् कोटिशो मानस: पूर्ण: शलः: पालो हलीमक:,वे बेचारे सर्प माताके शापसे पीड़ित हो विवशतापूर्वक सर्पयज्ञकी आगमें होम दिये गये थे। उनके नाम इस प्रकार हैं--कोटिश, मानस, पूर्ण, शल, पाल, हलीमक, पिच्छल, कौणप, चक्र, कालवेग, प्रकालन, हिरण्यबाहु, शरण, कक्षक और कालदन्तक
śaunaka uvāca | avaśānū mātṛ-vāg-daṇḍa-pīḍitān kṛpaṇān hutān koṭiśo mānasaḥ pūrṇaḥ śalaḥ pālo halīmakaḥ pichchalaḥ kauṇapaḥ cakraḥ kāla-vegaḥ prakālanaḥ hiraṇya-bāhuḥ śaraṇaḥ kakṣakaḥ kāla-dantakaś ca |
Śaunaka dit : «Impuissantes et misérables, tourmentées par la force punitive de la malédiction proférée par leur mère, ces serpents furent jetés comme oblations dans le feu du sacrifice des serpents. Leurs noms étaient : Koṭiśa, Mānasa, Pūrṇa, Śala, Pāla, Halīmaka, Picchala, Kauṇapa, Cakra, Kāla-vega, Prakālana, Hiraṇya-bāhu, Śaraṇa, Kakṣaka et Kāla-dantaka.»
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores how a spoken curse (vāk) can function as a moral and causal force, driving beings toward suffering and death. It also highlights the ethical tension in ritual action: a sacrifice may be ritually sanctioned, yet it can become an instrument of mass harm when fueled by vengeance and inherited consequences.
Śaunaka lists serpents who, being helpless under the pressure of their mother’s curse, were drawn into and offered in the fire of the serpent-sacrifice (Sarpasatra). The verse functions as a catalog of victims within the larger account of Janamejaya’s sacrificial rite against the serpent race.