Shloka 323
Bhāgīratha’s Tapas and the Petition to Gaṅgā (गङ्गावतरण-प्रसङ्गः)
ददाह सुमहातेजा मन्दबुद्धीन् स सागरान् | मुनिप्रवर कपिल वे ही भगवान् विष्णु हैं जिन्हें वासुदेव कहते हैं। उन महातेजस्वीने विकराल आँखें करके अपना तेज उनपर छोड़ दिया और मन्दबुद्धि सगरपुत्रोंकी जला दिया
dadāha sumahātejā mandabuddhīn sa sāgarān | munipravaraḥ kapilo vai bhagavān viṣṇur yaṃ vāsudeva iti vadanti | sa mahātejāḥ vikarālān netrān kṛtvā svatejas tān prati mumoca, mandabuddhīn sagaraputrān dadāha |
Lomasha said: The exceedingly radiant sage Kapila—foremost among ascetics, and indeed identified with Lord Viṣṇu, whom people call Vāsudeva—fixed his terrible gaze and released his fiery splendor upon them. Thus he burned the dull-witted sons of Sagara to ashes, showing how reckless aggression against a realized sage brings swift ruin and how divine power protects dharma through uncompromising consequence.
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
Reckless pride and violence directed at a realized sage (or dharma itself) rebounds disastrously; spiritual power (tejas) is not merely physical force but a moral-cosmic potency that enforces consequences when dharma is violated.
Lomasha recounts how the sage Kapila—identified here with Viṣṇu/Vāsudeva—turns a fierce gaze and releases his radiance, burning the sons of King Sagara, who are portrayed as acting with poor judgment.