Shloka 178

Devanagari script

उत्तड़क उवाच तक्षकेण महीन्द्रेन्द्र येन ते हिंसित: पिता । तस्मै प्रतिकुरुष्व त्वं पन्नगाय दुरात्मने,इतना कहकर उत्तंक फिर बोले--भूपालशिरोमणे! नागराज तक्षकने आपके पिताकी हत्या की है; अतः आप उस दुरात्मा सर्पसे इसका बदला लीजिये

Transliteration

Uttaṅka uvāca—Takṣakeṇa mahīndrendra yena te hiṁsitaḥ pitā | tasmai pratikuruṣva tvaṁ pannagāya durātmane ||

Translation

Uttaṅka said: “O best of kings! It was Takṣaka who harmed your father. Therefore, you must exact retribution from that wicked serpent.” Thus Uttaṅka urges the ruler toward vengeance, framing it as a kingly duty to answer grievous injury—yet the appeal also raises the ethical tension between justice and retaliatory wrath.

Word by Word

उत्तङ्कःUttaṅka

उवाचsaid

तक्षकेणby Takṣaka

महीन्द्रेन्द्रO king of kings (best of rulers)

येनby whom

तेyour

हिंसितःkilled/violently harmed

पिताfather

तस्मैto him

प्रतिकुरुष्वtake revenge / retaliate

त्वम्you

पन्नगायto the serpent

दुरात्मनेto the wicked one

Speaker

उत्तड़क उवाच

Characters & Entities

Uttaṅka

Takṣaka

the king addressed (Janamejaya, implied by context)

the father of the king (Parīkṣit, implied by context)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a royal-ethical dilemma: a king is urged to uphold justice by answering grave harm, yet the call to ‘retaliate’ also risks sliding from righteous punishment into vengeance driven by anger.

What is happening in the narrative?

Uttaṅka informs and provokes the king by naming Takṣaka as the serpent responsible for the father’s death, pressing the king to take action against Takṣaka—an impetus that leads toward the famous serpent-sacrifice (sarpa-satra) episode.