Shloka 1
Vālakhilya-Tapas and the Birth of Garuḍa (वालखिल्यतपः-गरुडोत्पत्तिः)
अपना बछ। ] अत्णऑशाय: सप्तविशो<्ध्याय: रामणीयक द्वीपके मनोरम वनका वर्णन तथा गरुडका दास्यभावसे छूटनेके लिये सर्पोंसे उपाय पूछना सौतिरुवाच सम्प्रहष्टास्ततो नागा जलधाराप्लुतास्तदा । सुपर्णेनोहमानास्ते जम्मुस्तं द्वीपमाशु वै,उग्रश्रवाजी कहते हैं--गरुडपर सवार होकर यात्रा करनेवाले वे नाग उस समय जलधारासे नहाकर अत्यन्त प्रसन्न हो शीघ्र ही रामणीयक द्वीपमें जा पहुँचे
samprahṛṣṭās tato nāgā jaladhārāplutās tadā | supārṇenohyamānās te jagmus taṃ dvīpam āśu vai ||
Ugraśravas (Sauti) said: Then the Nāgas, delighted at heart and bathed by the flowing waters, were swiftly borne along by Suparṇa (Garuḍa) and quickly reached that island. The scene underscores how even those bound by fear and servitude seek relief through purification and purposeful action, moving toward a place of refuge while still under the power of another.
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral contrast: those under compulsion still pursue cleansing and a path toward relief. It suggests that purification and directed effort can accompany even constrained circumstances, preparing the ground for eventual liberation.
Sauti narrates that the Nāgas, pleased and bathed in flowing water, are carried swiftly by Garuḍa to an island (understood in context as Rāmaṇīyaka-dvīpa), continuing the episode connected with Garuḍa and the serpents.