Shloka 41
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
विप्रवर! तदनन्तर तोतेने अग्निका पता बता दिया। फिर तो देवता शमीवृक्षकी ओर दौड़े। यह देख अग्निने तोतेको शाप दे दिया--'तू वाणीसे रहित हो जायगा” ।।
jihdām āvartayāmāsa tasyāpi hutabhuk tathā | dṛṣṭvā tu jvalanaṃ devāḥ śukam ūcur dayānvitāḥ ||
Bhishma berkata: “Kemudian Agni, sang pemakan persembahan, membalikkan lidah burung nuri itu juga, sehingga ia tak mampu lagi berkata-kata. Melihat api yang menyala-nyala, para dewa—tergerak oleh belas kasih—menyapa burung nuri itu.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that anger and punitive impulses (even when provoked) can lead to disproportionate harm—here, the loss of speech—whereas compassion and restraint are portrayed as the nobler, dharmic response.
Agni (Hutabhuk) renders the parrot speechless by causing its tongue to retract; the gods, seeing the blazing fire and moved by pity, then speak to the parrot, indicating an intervention motivated by compassion.