Shloka 35
Brāhmaṇa-māhātmya: Tārkṣya’s instruction on tapas, satya, and svadharma
Chapter 182
चक्षुषा यं प्रपश्यामि प्राणिनं पृथिवीपते । तस्य तेजो हराम्याशु तद्धि-दृष्टेबलं मम,राजन! उन दिनों मैं जिस प्राणीकी ओर आँख उठाकर देखता था, उसका तेज तत्काल हर लेता था। यह थी मेरी दृष्टिकी शक्ति
cakṣuṣā yaṁ prapaśyāmi prāṇinaṁ pṛthivīpate | tasya tejo harāmy āśu tad dhi dṛṣṭabalaṁ mama, rājan |
The serpent said: “O lord of the earth, whichever living being I looked upon with my eyes, I would swiftly seize away that creature’s radiance and vital splendor. Such, O king, was the power inherent in my gaze.”
सर्प उवाच
Educational Q&A
Extraordinary power (here, a destructive gaze that steals tejas) is ethically dangerous when driven by impulse or pride. The verse highlights how harming others by one’s innate or acquired abilities violates righteous conduct and invites moral consequence.
A serpent addresses a king and describes its former capability: merely by looking at a creature, it could instantly strip away that being’s tejas (radiant vitality). The statement functions as a confession/explanation of the serpent’s fearsome nature and the cause of suffering it could inflict.