Shloka 19
Kāmyake Pāṇḍavānāṃ Bhojana-vyavasthā
Provisioning and Welfare in the Kāmyaka Forest
येन पूर्व महात्मान: खनमाना रसातलम् | दर्शनादेव निहता: सगरस्यात्मजा विभो,“महर्षे! पूर्वकालमें रसातलको खोदनेवाले सगरके महामना पुत्र उन्हीं कपिलकी दृष्टिमात्र पड़नेसे भस्म हो गये थे
yena pūrva mahātmānaḥ khanamānā rasātalam | darśanād eva nihatāḥ sagarasyātmajā vibho ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O mighty one, in former times the high-souled sons of Sagara, while digging down toward Rasātala, were slain merely by the sight of Kapila.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral weight of approaching a great ascetic (or a being of spiritual power) without humility or restraint: reckless, forceful action—especially when driven by pride or accusation—can bring swift ruin. It underscores that tapas and sanctity are potent, and ethical conduct requires reverence and self-control.
Vaiśampāyana recalls an earlier episode: Sagara’s sons, searching and digging down toward the netherworld (Rasātala), encounter Kapila; by Kapila’s mere glance they are destroyed. The line functions as a remembered precedent within the larger Vana Parva narration.