Shloka 17
Sarasvatī-Śāpavimokṣa, Rākṣasa-Mokṣa, and Aruṇā-Tīrtha
Indra–Namuci Expiation
तामुवाच मुनि: क्रुद्धो वसिष्ठं शीघ्रमानय । यावदेनं निहन्म्यद्य तच्छुत्वा व्यथिता नदी
tām uvāca muniḥ kruddho vasiṣṭhaṃ śīghram ānaya | yāvad enaṃ nihany adya tac chrutvā vyathitā nadī ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Enraged, the sage said to her, “Bring Vasiṣṭha here at once—before I strike him down today.” Hearing those words, the river was shaken with distress. The passage highlights how anger, even in an ascetic, can surge toward violence, and how such intent alarms the moral order symbolized by the river’s agitation.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical danger of krodha (anger): when anger governs intention, even a sage may speak in ways that threaten dharma. The river’s distress signals that violent resolve disrupts the natural and moral order.
Vaiśampāyana reports that an enraged sage commands a woman addressed as “her” to bring Vasiṣṭha immediately, declaring an intent to kill him that very day; upon hearing this, the river becomes agitated and distressed.