Shloka 13
Vasiṣṭhāpavāha: Sarasvatī’s Diversion and Viśvāmitra’s Curse (वसिष्ठापवाहः)
बको दाल्भ्यो महाराज नियमं परमं स्थित: । स तैरेव जुहावास्य राष्ट्र मांसैर्महातपा:
Vaiśampāyana uvāca | bako dālbhyō mahārāja niyamaṁ paramaṁ sthitaḥ | sa taireva juhāvāsya rāṣṭraṁ māṁsair mahātapāḥ, krodhena mahatāviṣṭo dharmātmā vai pratāpavān |
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。「王よ、ダールビヤの子バカは、至上の誓戒に堅く住する大苦行者であり、法にかなって威力を備えていた。だが激しい憤怒にとらわれ、彼はヤジュニャの祭火を燃え立たせ、死せる獣の肉のみを供物として、その王国そのものを供犠するかのように火供を行った。この箇所は、タパス（修行の力）とクローダ（怒り）とのあいだの道徳的緊張を示し、怒りに駆られた修行力が破壊へと転じうることを語る。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral paradox: a person may be dharmic and highly disciplined, yet if overtaken by krodha, the same tapas and ritual capacity can become destructive. It cautions that spiritual power requires inner restraint and ethical clarity, not merely austerity.
Vaiśampāyana recounts an episode connected with a sacred place: the ascetic Baka Dālbhyā, overwhelmed by great anger, performs a fierce kind of oblation—symbolically ‘offering’ a kingdom—using flesh as the sacrificial substance, illustrating the potency and danger of wrath-driven ascetic acts.