Shloka 26
Ruru–Pramadvarā: Lineage, Fosterage, Betrothal, and the Snakebite Crisis (Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 8)
तां ते कन््यां व्यसुं दृष्टवा भुजड्स्य विषार्दिताम्,वे सब लोग उस कन्याको सर्पके विषसे पीड़ित हो प्राणशून्य हुई देख करुणावश रोने लगे। रुरु तो अत्यन्त आर्त होकर वहाँसे बाहर चला गया और शेष सभी द्विज उस समय वहीं बैठे रहे
tāṃ te kanyāṃ vyasuṃ dṛṣṭvā bhujaṅgasya viṣārditām | te sarve lokāḥ tāṃ kanyāṃ sarpaviṣapīḍitāṃ prāṇaśūnyāṃ dṛṣṭvā karuṇāvaśād roruvān | ruruḥ tu atyantam ārtaḥ san tataḥ sthānād bahiḥ nirgataḥ, śeṣāḥ sarve dvijāḥ tu tadā tatraiva niṣaṇṇāḥ babhūvuḥ |
Seeing that maiden lying lifeless, struck down by the serpent’s venom, all those present were overcome with compassion and began to weep. Ruru, seized by extreme anguish, went out from that place, while the remaining brahmins stayed seated there at that time. The passage underscores how sudden violence and heedlessness toward living beings can bring irreversible loss, and how grief naturally arises when life is destroyed.
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of harm caused by venomous violence and the natural dharmic response of compassion; it also foreshadows how grief can drive a person (Ruru) toward decisive action, reminding readers to act with care toward all beings and to recognize the consequences of injury and death.
A maiden has been killed by a serpent’s poison. Those present weep out of compassion. Ruru, overwhelmed by sorrow, leaves the place, while the other brahmins remain seated there.