Shloka 5
Āstīka-stuti at Janamejaya’s Sacrifice (आस्तीकस्तुतिः / यज्ञप्रशंसा)
वहन्तं राजशार्दूल स्कन्धेनानपकारिणम् | तपस्विनमतीवाथ त॑ मुनिप्रवरं नूप
janamejaya uvāca | vahantaṁ rājaśārdūla skandhenānapakāriṇam | tapasvinam atīvātha taṁ munipravaraṁ nṛpa ||
ジャナメージャヤは言った。「王たちの中の虎よ、統べる者よ——彼が肩に負っていたのは害なきものにすぎぬのに、賢者の第一、偉大なる苦行者は侮りを受けた。何ら罪を犯していないにもかかわらず、汝の父パリークシットは、沈黙の三昧に坐していた最上の牟尼——苦行と自制に生きる長老——の肩に死蛇を載せて辱めたのだ。」
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a powerful king must uphold dharma by showing restraint and reverence toward ascetics; insulting an innocent, self-controlled sage is an ethical failure that invites grave consequences.
Janamejaya recounts the incident that provoked Śṛṅgī: King Parīkṣit, angered by the sage’s silence, placed a dead snake on the sage’s shoulder—an act of disrespect that leads to the famous curse and sets the stage for the snake-sacrifice narrative.