Shloka 3
सर्पसत्रे हुतानां नागानां नामपरिगणनम् | Enumeration of Nāgas Consumed in the Sarpasatra Fire
कम्पयन्तश्न सर्वेषामुरगाणां मनांसि च | सर्पानाजुहुवुस्तत्र सर्वानग्निमुखे तदा,वे समस्त सर्पोंके हृदयमें कैँपकँपी पैदा करते हुए उनके नाम ले-लेकर उन सबका वहाँ आगके मुखमें होम करने लगे
kampayantaś ca sarveṣām uragāṇāṁ manāṁsi ca | sarpān ājuhuvus tatra sarvān agnimukhe tadā ||
Janamejaya said: “Then, as the rite proceeded, they invoked the snakes by name and poured them as oblations into the mouth of the fire—so terrifying that it made the hearts and minds of all serpents tremble.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how ritual power, when driven by vengeance, becomes a vehicle for harm: the act is effective and fear-inducing, but it raises ethical tension about using sacred rites to destroy living beings.
During Janamejaya’s serpent-sacrifice (sarpa-satra), the officiants recite the snakes’ names and offer them into the sacrificial fire, causing terror among all serpents as they are drawn toward the fire’s ‘mouth’.