Shloka 5
Uccaiḥśravas and the Counsel to Churn the Ocean (उच्चैःश्रवसः प्रादुर्भावः — समुद्रमन्थन-परामर्शः)
अथ दीर्घस्य कालस्य पाण्डवेयो नराधिप: । आज हार महायज्ञं सर्पसत्रमिति श्रुति:,तदनन्तर दीर्घकालके पश्चात् पाण्डववंशीय नरेश जनमेजयने सर्पसत्र नामक महान् यज्ञका आयोजन किया, ऐसा सुननेमें आता है। सर्पोके संहारके लिये आरम्भ किये हुए उस सत्रमें आकर महातपस्वी आस्तीकने नागोंको मौतसे छुड़ाया
atha dīrghasya kālasya pāṇḍaveyo narādhipaḥ | ājahāra mahāyajñaṃ sarpasatram iti śrutiḥ ||
Śaunaka said: “After a long lapse of time, the Pāṇḍava-descended king performed a great sacrifice known—by tradition—as the Sarpa-satra (the serpent-sacrifice).” In the narrative frame, this points to Janamejaya’s later rite undertaken to avenge the destruction caused by serpents; it also sets up the ethical tension between retaliatory violence and the restraining power of dharma, which will culminate in the intervention that saves the Nāgas from annihilation.
शौनक उवाच