Shloka 5
शुकस्य मिथिलागमनम् (Śukasya Mithilāgamanam) — Śuka’s Journey to Mithilā and the Courtly Test
चतुर्विधं महीपाल निर्दहत्याशु तेजसा | जरायुजाण्डजस्वेदजोद्धिज्जं च नराधिप
caturvidhaṃ mahīpāla nirdahaty āśu tejasā | jarāyujāṇḍajasvedajodbhijjaṃ ca narādhipa ||
ಯಾಜ್ಞವಲ್ಕ್ಯನು ಹೇಳಿದರು—ಓ ನರಾಧಿಪ! ತನ್ನ ದಹನತೇಜಸ್ಸಿನಿಂದ ಅವನು ಶೀಘ್ರವಾಗಿ ಚತುರ್ವಿಧ ಜೀವಿಗಳನ್ನು ದಹಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ—ಜರಾಯುಜ, ಅಂಡಜ, ಸ್ವೇದಜ ಮತ್ತು ಉದ್ಭಿಜ್ಜ.
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the overwhelming force of tejas (fiery energy/power): it can swiftly destroy all categories of embodied life, reminding the listener of the fragility of beings and the need for restraint, discernment, and dharmic conduct in wielding power.
Yājñavalkya addresses a king and describes how a powerful, blazing force rapidly consumes living beings of every traditional birth-category (womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born, and earth-sprout-born), as part of a broader instruction on the nature and effects of potent energies.