Shloka 7
तस्य पूर्व शिरो ग्रस्तं पुच्छमस्य निगीर्य च । निगीर्यमाणा साक्रामत् सुतं नागी मुमुक्षया,उसने पहले उसका मस्तक निगल लिया। फिर धीरे-धीरे पूँछतकका भाग निगल गयी। निगलते-निगलते ही उस नागिनने पुत्रको बचानेके लिये आकाशमें उड़कर निकल भागनेकी चेष्टा की
tasya pūrvaṃ śiro grastaṃ puccham asya nigīrya ca | nigīryamāṇā sākramat sutaṃ nāgī mumukṣayā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: She first swallowed his head; then, having also gulped down his tail, she began to move away while still swallowing him— the serpent-mother striving to escape in order to save her son. The scene underscores a mother’s fierce protective impulse, even when driven to desperate, morally fraught action.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the power of parental (especially maternal) duty and compassion: the mother-serpent acts with single-minded urgency to protect her child, illustrating how dharma can appear in instinctive, sacrificial care—even amid actions that may seem harsh or dangerous.
A female serpent begins swallowing someone—first the head, then the tail—and, while still in the act, she moves away attempting to escape, motivated by the intention to save her son.