Vyāsa’s Arrival at Janamejaya’s Sarpasatra; Commissioning of Vaiśaṃpāyana’s Recital (व्यासागमनम्)
जनमेजयस्य वो यज्ञे धक्ष्यत्यनिलसारथि: । तत्र पञठ्चत्वमापन्ना: प्रेतलोक॑ गमिष्यथ
janamejayasya vo yajñe dhakṣyaty anilasārathiḥ | tatra pañcatvam āpannāḥ pretalokaṁ gamiṣyatha ||
ಆಸ್ತೀಕನು ಹೇಳಿದನು— “ರಾಜ ಜನಮೇಜಯನ ಯಜ್ಞದಲ್ಲಿ ವಾಯುವನ್ನು ಸಾರಥಿಯಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡ ಅಗ್ನಿ ನಿಮಗೆ ದಹನಮಾಡುವುದು. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಅಂತ್ಯ; ಮರಣ ಹೊಂದಿ ನೀವು ಪ್ರೇತಲೋಕಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗುವಿರಿ.”
आस्तीक उवाच
Actions that violate truth, trust, and duty—especially within binding vows—carry consequences that may unfold later with full force; the verse frames destruction in the sacrificial fire as the ethical result of prior wrongdoing.
Āstīka refers to the destined outcome for the serpents: in Janamejaya’s great sacrifice they will be drawn into the fire and perish, going to the realm of the dead—an allusion to the later sarpa-satra (snake-sacrifice) that becomes central to the Adi Parva narrative.