Shloka 7

सर्पसत्रे ऋत्विजः सदस्याश्च — Officiants and Assembly at Janamejaya’s Serpent-Sacrifice

Devanagari script

दुर्वार्यतां विदित्वा च भर्तुस्तेडतितपस्विन: । नैनमन्वागमिष्यामि कदाचिद्धि शपेत्‌ स माम्‌,तुम्हारे महातपस्वी पतिको जानेसे रोकना किसीके लिये भी अत्यन्त कठिन है, यह जानकर मैं उन्हें लौटा लानेके लिये उनके पीछे नहीं जा रहा हूँ। लौटनेका आग्रह करूँ तो कदाचित्‌ वे मुझे शाप भी दे सकते हैं

Transliteration

durvāryatāṃ viditvā ca bhartus te ’titatapasvinaḥ | nainam anvāgamiṣyāmi kadācidd hi śapet sa mām ||

Translation

Takṣaka said: “Knowing that your husband—so exceedingly austere—is not one whom anyone can restrain, I will not go after him to bring him back. If I were to press him to return, he might even curse me.”

Word by Word

• {'durvāryatā': 'irresistibility

• being impossible to restrain or turn back', 'viditvā': 'having known

• understanding', 'bhartuḥ': 'of the husband/lord', 'te': 'your', 'atitapasvinaḥ': 'of one possessing extreme austerity

• very ascetic', 'na': 'not', 'enam': 'him (this person)', 'anvāgamiṣyāmi': 'I will follow after

• I will go in pursuit', 'kadācit': 'perhaps

• at some time', 'hi': 'indeed

• for', 'śapet': 'might curse (optative of √śap)', 'sa': 'he', 'mām': 'me'}

Speaker

तक्षक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Takṣaka
• bhartṛ (the husband of the addressed woman, an atitapasvin)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights prudent restraint before spiritual power: one should recognize the force of intense tapas and avoid provoking an ascetic, since a curse (śāpa) is treated as morally and metaphysically potent in the epic.

What is happening in the narrative?

Takṣaka explains why he will not pursue the woman’s highly ascetic husband to bring him back: the man is effectively unrestrainable, and insisting on his return could lead to Takṣaka being cursed.