Shloka 1
शृङ्गिशापः—तक्षककाश्यपसंवादः (Śṛṅgī’s Curse and the Takṣaka–Kāśyapa Dialogue)
उग्रश्रवाजी कहते हैं--शौनकजी! यह सुनकर जरत्कारु अत्यन्त शोकमें मग्न हो गये और दु:खसे आँसू बहाते हुए गदगद वाणीमें अपने पितरोंसे बोले
Ugraśravā uvāca—śaunaka! etac chrutvā jaratkāruḥ paramaduḥkhena śokamagnaḥ san aśrubhiḥ pariplutaḥ gadgadāṃ vācaṃ kṛtvā svapitṝn prati uvāca.
Ugraśravas said: “O Śaunaka, hearing this, Jaratkāru was overwhelmed by grief. His eyes streamed with tears, and with a voice choked by sorrow he addressed his forefathers.” The passage frames a moral urgency: one’s duties toward ancestors and lineage are not merely personal concerns but part of a wider ethical order, and neglect of them can become a cause of profound remorse.
तक्षक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights pitṛ-dharma: responsibility toward one’s forefathers and the continuity of lineage. It suggests that spiritual striving does not erase ethical obligations; when such duties are neglected or endangered, the result can be intense remorse and a renewed sense of accountability.
The narrator Ugraśravas tells Śaunaka that Jaratkāru, upon hearing distressing news connected with his ancestors, becomes grief-stricken. Weeping and speaking with a choked voice, he turns to address his forefathers directly, setting up the ensuing dialogue and the actions he must take.