Shloka 116
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 3 — Janamejaya’s Rite, Dhaumya’s Parīkṣā, and Uttanka’s Kuṇḍala Quest (सर्पसत्रप्रस्तावना–गुरुपरीक्षा–उत्तङ्कोपाख्यान)
अथोत्तड़क: सकेशं शीतमन्नं दृष्टवा अशुच्येतदिति मत्वा तं पौष्यमुवाच यस्मान्मे5शुच्यन्नं ददासि तस्मादन्धो भविष्यसीति,परंतु जब भोजन सामने आया, तब उत्तंकने देखा, उसमें बाल पड़ा है और वह ठण्डा हो चुका है। फिर तो “यह अपवित्र अन्न है” ऐसा निश्चय करके वे राजा पौष्यसे बोले--“आप मुझे अपवित्र अन्न दे रहे हैं, अतः अन्धे हो जायँगे”
athottadakaḥ sakeśaṃ śītam annaṃ dṛṣṭvā aśucy etad iti matvā taṃ pauṣyam uvāca—yasmān me'śucyannaṃ dadāsi tasmād andho bhaviṣyasīti.
Then Uttanka, seeing that the food had a hair in it and had become cold, concluded, “This is impure.” He said to King Pauṣya, “Since you have given me impure food, you shall become blind.” The episode underscores how breaches of ritual and hospitality norms can provoke severe moral and karmic consequences, especially when spoken as a curse by an aggrieved ascetic.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical and dharmic weight of purity and proper hospitality: serving impure food—especially to an ascetic—can be treated as a serious breach, and harsh speech or a curse may follow, implying moral causality and accountability.
Uttanka is offered a meal; he notices it is cold and contains a hair, judges it impure, and angrily tells King Pauṣya that because he has given impure food, the king will become blind.