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The Birth of the Nāgas, Brahmā’s Curse, and the Pañcamī Observance
प्रजापाल उवाच । भगवँस्तार्क्षविषयाः कथं मूर्त्तिमुपागताः । नागा बभूवुः कुटिला एतदाख्यातुमर्हसि ॥ २४.३ ॥
prajāpāla uvāca | bhagavaṁs tārkṣa-viṣayāḥ kathaṁ mūrtim upāgatāḥ | nāgā babhūvuḥ kuṭilā etad ākhyātum arhasi || 24.3 ||
प्रजापाल ने कहा, भगवान, गरुड़ से जुड़ने वाले लोग कैसे बदल गए? नाग इतने टेढ़े-मेढ़े कैसे हो गए? यह सब मुझे समझाओ।
Prajāpāla
It exemplifies a common Purāṇic literary device: etiological questioning that frames later narration about the origins and characteristics of mythic beings (here, Nāgas and those linked with Garuḍa/Tārkṣya).
No explicit geographic toponym appears in this verse; it functions as a narrative prompt rather than a site-description.
No direct ethical injunction is stated; the verse foregrounds the epistemic virtue of inquiry—requesting a reasoned account (ākhyātum) from an authoritative narrator.
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
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