Shloka 127
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 3 — Janamejaya’s Rite, Dhaumya’s Parīkṣā, and Uttanka’s Kuṇḍala Quest (सर्पसत्रप्रस्तावना–गुरुपरीक्षा–उत्तङ्कोपाख्यान)
अथोत्तड़कस्ते कुण्डले संन्यस्य भूमावुदकार्थ प्रचक्रमे । एतस्मिन्नन्तरे स क्षपणकस्त्वरमाण उपसृत्य ते कुण्डले गृहीत्वा प्राद्रवत्,कुछ दूर जानेके बाद उत्तंकने उन कुण्डलोंको एक जलाशयके किनारे भूमिपर रख दिया और स्वयं जलसम्बन्धी कृत्य (शौच, स्नान, आचमन, संध्यातर्पण आदि) करने लगे। इतनेमें ही वह क्षपणक बड़ी उतावलीके साथ वहाँ आया और दोनों कुण्डलोंको लेकर चंपत हो गया
athottadakaste kuṇḍale saṃnyasya bhūmāv udakārthaṃ pracakrame | etasminn antare sa kṣapaṇakas tvaramāṇa upasṛtya te kuṇḍale gṛhītvā prādravat |
Then Uttanka set those earrings down on the ground and began to attend to his water-rites. In that very interval, a mendicant (kṣapaṇaka), hurrying up, seized the earrings and ran off. The episode underscores the ethical danger of negligence: even a righteous task, if done without vigilance and discernment, can open the door to loss and wrongdoing by others.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights that dharmic acts require prudence: performing rites is good, but carelessness with entrusted valuables and failure to assess circumstances can enable adharma. Ethical living includes vigilance, discernment, and responsibility for what one has undertaken to protect.
Uttanka temporarily places the earrings on the ground to perform water-rites. During that brief interval, a hurried mendicant approaches, grabs the earrings, and runs away, setting up the ensuing pursuit and the larger chain of events in the Uttanka episode.