Shloka 55
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
वृषादार्थिऱवाच ऋषीणां गच्छ सप्तानामरुन्धत्यास्तथैव च । दासीभर्तुश्न दास्याश्न मनसा नाम धारय
bhīṣma uvāca | vṛṣādarthir uvāca: ṛṣīṇāṁ gaccha saptānām arundhatyās tathaiva ca | dāsī-bhartuś ca dāsyāś ca manasā nāma dhāraya ||
Vṛṣādarthi dit : «Va vers les sept sages, et de même vers Arundhatī. Renseigne-toi et garde en ton esprit les noms—et l’intention qu’ils portent—des sages, de la servante et du mari de cette servante. Quand tu auras saisi le sens de tous ces noms, abats-les ; puis va librement où bon te semblera.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse implicitly warns that even sacred knowledge (such as the significance of revered names) can be perverted into an instrument of harm; dharma is not merely knowing meanings, but using knowledge with restraint and right intention.
A figure named Vṛṣādarthi instructs a female being (addressed in the Hindi gloss as a yātudhānī, i.e., a demoness/witch-like being) to go to the Seven Sages and Arundhatī, learn and retain their names (and meanings), and then kill them—an act presented as a dark, transgressive command within Bhīṣma’s narration.