Shloka 6
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 10: Ruru’s Vow and Ḍuṇḍubha’s Appeal (रुरोः प्रतिज्ञा—डुण्डुभोपदेशः)
उवाच चैनं भगवान् रुरु: संशमयन्निव । काम॑ मां भुजग ब्रूहि को$सीमां विक्रियां गत:,इसके सिवा, बड़भागी रुसने उसे शान्ति प्रदान करते हुए-से कहा--“भुजंगम! बताओ, इस विकृत (सर्प)-योनिमें पड़े हुए तुम कौन हो?”
uvāca cainaṁ bhagavān ruruḥ saṁśamayann iva | kāmaṁ māṁ bhujaga brūhi ko 'sīmāṁ vikriyāṁ gataḥ ||
Ruru, the venerable one, spoke to him as though soothing him: “O serpent, tell me freely—who are you, fallen into this distorted condition (as a snake)?”
डुण्ड्रुभ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds compassionate inquiry: before judging a being by its frightening form, one should calm it and ask its identity and story—implying that outward appearance may conceal a karmic history and moral lesson.
Ruru addresses a serpent and, in a pacifying manner, asks it to speak openly and explain who it is and how it has come to be in such a transformed, degraded condition as a snake.