Shloka 37
Brāhmaṇa-māhātmya: Tārkṣya’s instruction on tapas, satya, and svadharma
Chapter 182
तत्र हागस्त्य: पादेन वहन् स्पृष्टो मया मुनि: । अगस्त्येन ततो<स्म्युक्त: सर्पस्त्वं च भवेति ह,स्वर्गमें मुनिवर अगस्त्य जब मेरी पालकी ढो रहे थे, तब मैंने उन्हें लात मारी, इसलिये उन्होंने मुझे ऐसा कहा कि “तू निश्चय ही सर्प हो जा”
tatra hāgastyaḥ pādena vahan spṛṣṭo mayā muniḥ | agastyena tato 'smy uktaḥ sarpastvaṃ ca bhaveti ha ||
There, while the sage Agastya was carrying me, I struck him with my foot. Because of that, Agastya pronounced a curse upon me, saying, “You shall indeed become a serpent.” The episode underscores how arrogance and disrespect toward a venerable ascetic invite swift moral consequence, and how a single act of contempt can reshape one’s destiny.
सर्प उवाच
Educational Q&A
Disrespect toward the virtuous—especially ascetics who embody restraint and dharma—brings immediate moral repercussions; humility and reverence are safeguards against self-inflicted downfall.
The serpent narrates his past: when Agastya was carrying him, he kicked the sage, and Agastya responded by declaring that he would become a serpent—explaining the origin of his present condition.