Shloka 22
Śṛṅgī’s Curse on King Parikṣit
Parikṣit–Śṛṅgī–Takṣaka Causal Link
खुग्भाण्डं निशि गत्वा च अपरे भुजगोत्तमा: । प्रमत्तानां हरन्त्वाशु विघ्न एवं भविष्यति
khugbhāṇḍaṃ niśi gatvā ca apare bhujagottamāḥ | pramattānāṃ harantvāśu vighna evaṃ bhaviṣyati ||
Biarlah ular-ular utama yang lain pergi ke sana pada malam hari dan segera mencuri perlengkapan upacara—seperti khugū, khuvā, serta bejana-bejana kurban—dari para ṛtvij ketika mereka lengah dan tertidur; dengan demikian, penghalang akan timbul dalam kurban itu.
शेष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethically negative strategy: creating a ritual ‘vighna’ by theft and stealth. It implicitly contrasts dharmic conduct (protecting sacred rites) with adharmic means (sabotage, exploiting others’ negligence), showing how moral lapses become tools in conflict.
Śeṣa instructs other leading serpents to go at night and steal the priests’ sacrificial implements while they are asleep and careless, so that the sacrifice is disrupted by a deliberate obstacle.