Shloka 15
उच्चैःश्रवसः वर्णविपणः तथा नागशापः
Uccaiḥśravas Color-Wager and the Nāga Curse
विबुधा: सहिता: सर्वे यत: पुच्छे ततः स्थिता: । ब्रह्मन! इस प्रकार पूर्वकालमें देवताओं, दैत्यों और दानवोंने मन्दराचलको मथानी और वासुकि नागको डोरी बनाकर अमृतके लिये जलनिधि समुद्रको मथना आरम्भ किया। उन महान् असुरोंने नागराज वासुकिके मुखभागको दृढ़तापूर्वक पकड़ रखा था और जिस ओर उसकी पूँछ थी उधर सम्पूर्ण देवता उसे पकड़कर खड़े थे || १३-१४ $ ।। अनन्तो भगवान् देवो यतो नारायणस्तत: । शिर उत्तक्षिप्प नागस्य पुन: पुनरवाक्षिपत्,भगवान् अनन्तदेव उधर ही खड़े थे, जिधर भगवान् नारायण थे। वे वासुकि नागके सिरको बार-बार ऊपर उठाकर झटकते थे
śaunaka uvāca | vibudhāḥ sahitāḥ sarve yataḥ pṛcche tataḥ sthitāḥ | ananto bhagavān devo yato nārāyaṇas tataḥ | śira ut kṣipya nāgasya punaḥ punar avākṣipat |
Śaunaka said: All the gods, assembled together, stood on the side where the serpent’s tail was. And the blessed god Ananta stood on the very side where Nārāyaṇa was; again and again he lifted up the serpent’s head and then pressed it down. In the churning of the ocean for amṛta, the scene underscores ordered cooperation under divine guidance: each party takes its appointed position, and the cosmic task proceeds through disciplined, coordinated effort rather than mere force.
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
A great undertaking succeeds when roles are properly assigned and carried out with unity and restraint; even immense power is effective only when aligned with cosmic order and guided by the divine.
During the churning of the ocean for amṛta, the gods stand at the serpent’s tail-end, while Ananta stands with Nārāyaṇa and repeatedly lifts and forces down the serpent’s head, aiding the churning action.