Shloka 26
ह्वियमाणे तु दृष्टवा स कुण्डले भुजगेन ह,सर्पके द्वारा कुण्डलोंका अपहरण होता देख उत्तंक मुनि उद्विग्न हो उठे और अत्यन्त क्रोधमें भरकर वृक्षसे कूद पड़े। आकर एक काठका डंडा हाथमें ले उसीसे उस बाँबीको खोदने लगे
hviyamāṇe tu dṛṣṭvā sa kuṇḍale bhujagena ha
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Seeing the earrings being carried off by the serpent, the sage Uttaṅka was shaken with alarm. Overwhelmed by fierce anger, he leapt down from the tree, seized a wooden staff, and began digging at the anthill—driven by a sense of duty to recover what had been taken and to set right an act of wrongful seizure.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The episode highlights dharma as active responsibility: when something is wrongfully taken, one must act decisively to restore what is due—yet the narrative also warns that righteous purpose can be accompanied by intense anger, which must be directed wisely rather than allowed to become destructive.
A serpent steals/carries off the earrings. Uttaṅka, seeing this, becomes alarmed and enraged, jumps down from the tree, takes a wooden staff, and starts digging into the anthill (the serpent’s entry point) to pursue and recover the earrings.