Shloka 28
उच्चैःश्रवसः वर्णविपणः तथा नागशापः
Uccaiḥśravas Color-Wager and the Nāga Curse
ततस्तस्य समुद्रस्य तज्जातमुदकं पय: । रसोत्तमैविमिश्र॑ च तत: क्षीरादभूद्ू घृतम्,उन उत्तम रसोंके सम्मिश्रणसे समुद्रका सारा जल दूध बन गया और दूधसे घी बनने लगा
tatas tasya samudrasya tajjātam udakaṃ payaḥ | rasottamaiḥ vimishraṃ ca tataḥ kṣīrād abhūd ghṛtam ||
Śaunaka said: “Then the water that had arisen in that ocean turned into milk; and, being blended with the finest essences, from that milk ghee came into being.” The narration highlights a wondrous transformation in which the world’s substances are refined into purer forms, suggesting an ethical ideal of moving from the ordinary toward the excellent through proper mixture, maturation, and elevation of quality.
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a striking natural metaphor—water becoming milk and milk becoming ghee—to suggest refinement: what is common can be elevated into what is more nourishing and excellent when combined with the ‘best essences’ and allowed to mature.
Śaunaka describes a miraculous transformation in the ocean: its water turns into milk, and from that milk ghee is produced, emphasizing a sequence of increasingly concentrated and valued substances.