Shloka 23
अध्याय ३४ — एलापत्रस्योपदेशः
Elāpatra’s Counsel on the Nāgas’ Deliverance
सोमस्थानमिदं चेति दर्भास्ते लिलिहुस्तदा । ततो द्विधाकृता जिद्दा: सर्पाणां तेन कर्मणा,फिर यह समझकर कि यहाँ अमृत रखा गया था, इसलिये सम्भव है इसमें उसका कुछ अंश लगा हो, सर्पोने उस समय कुशोंको चाटना शुरू किया। ऐसा करनेसे सर्पोंकी जीभके दो भाग हो गये
somasthānam idaṃ ceti darbhas te lilihus tadā | tato dvidhākṛtā jihvāḥ sarpāṇāṃ tena karmaṇā ||
Śakra said: ‘Thinking, “This must be the Soma-place,” the serpents then began to lick those blades of kuśa grass, supposing that some trace of the nectar might have adhered there. By that very act, the tongues of the serpents became split into two.’ Ethically, the verse frames a bodily mark as the consequence of a misguided, grasping action—desire and haste leading to an irreversible result.
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions driven by craving and assumption can produce lasting consequences; the verse presents a moral-causal link (karma) where a misguided attempt to obtain nectar results in a permanent bodily change.
Indra explains that the serpents, believing the spot to be the Soma-place and hoping for remnants of amṛta, lick the kuśa grass; as a consequence of that act, their tongues become forked.