Shloka 2
आदि पर्व, अध्याय ३८ — शमीक-उपदेशः, शाप-संदेशः, तक्षक-प्रसङ्गः (Śamīka’s counsel, the curse-message, and Takṣaka’s approach)
नस यज्ञो न भविता न स राजा तथाविध: । जनमेजय: पाण्डवेयो यतो5स्माकं महद् भयम्,'भाइयो! यह सम्भव नहीं कि वह यज्ञ न हो तथा पाण्डववंशी राजा जनमेजय भी, जिससे हमें महान् भय प्राप्त हुआ है, ऐसा नहीं है कि हम उसका कुछ बिगाड़ सकें
na sa yajño na bhavitā na sa rājā tathāvidhaḥ | janamejayaḥ pāṇḍaveyo yato ’smākaṃ mahad bhayam ||
Śeṣa said: “That sacrifice will not fail to take place, nor will that king of such a kind fail to arise—Janamejaya, the Pāṇḍava-descended ruler—from whom a great terror has come upon us. We are not in a position to undo what is destined through him.”
शेष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores inevitability: when a powerful ruler and a major ritual are fated to arise, mere resistance cannot avert their consequences. It also hints at the ethical weight of royal action—ritual and kingship can become instruments of fear when driven by vengeance.
Śeṣa, speaking among the Nāgas, foresees that the serpent-sacrifice will indeed occur under King Janamejaya, a Pāṇḍava-line ruler. The Nāgas recognize the grave threat posed by this destined event and admit their inability to prevent it by ordinary means.