Shloka 21
Śṛṅgī’s Curse on King Parikṣit
Parikṣit–Śṛṅgī–Takṣaka Causal Link
अपरे त्वब्रुवन् नागा: समिद्धं जातवेदसम् । वर्षैनिवापयिष्यामो मेघा भूत्वा सविद्युत:
apare tv abruvan nāgāḥ samiddhaṃ jātavedasam | varṣair nivāpayiṣyāmo meghā bhūtvā sa-vidyutaḥ ||
ほかのナーガたちは言った。「蛇の供犠のために祭火――ジャータヴェーダス――が燃え上がったなら、われらは稲妻を伴う雲となり、雨を降らせてそれを消し去ろう。」
शेष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how threatened groups may attempt to counter even a powerful ritual force through collective strategy and control of natural elements; it invites reflection on the tension between ritual power and the ethics of resistance driven by fear.
Some Nāgas propose a plan to thwart the impending serpent-sacrifice by transforming into thunderclouds and dousing the sacrificial fire (Agni/Jātavedas) with rain.