Shloka 55
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
वृषादार्थिऱवाच ऋषीणां गच्छ सप्तानामरुन्धत्यास्तथैव च । दासीभर्तुश्न दास्याश्न मनसा नाम धारय
bhīṣma uvāca | vṛṣādarthir uvāca: ṛṣīṇāṁ gaccha saptānām arundhatyās tathaiva ca | dāsī-bhartuś ca dāsyāś ca manasā nāma dhāraya ||
ວຶສາດາຣຖິ ກ່າວວ່າ: “ໂອ ຢາຕຸທານີ, ຈົ່ງອອກຈາກບ່ອນນີ້ໄປສູ່ປ່າ. ທີ່ນັ້ນ ຈົ່ງໄປຫາຣິຊີທັງເຈັດ ແລະ ອະຣຸນທະຕີ (Arundhatī) ດ້ວຍ. ຈົ່ງຖາມນາມຂອງພວກຣິຊີ, ນາມຂອງນາງຮັບໃຊ້, ແລະນາມຂອງຜົວນາງ; ແລ້ວຈົ່ງຈັບໃຈເອົານັຍຂອງນາມເຫຼົ່ານັ້ນໄວ້. ເມື່ອເຂົ້າໃຈຄວາມໝາຍແລ້ວ ຈົ່ງປະຫານພວກເຂົາ; ແລ້ວຈົ່ງໄປບ່ອນໃດກໍໄດ້ຕາມໃຈປາຖະໜາ.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse implicitly warns that even sacred knowledge (such as the significance of revered names) can be perverted into an instrument of harm; dharma is not merely knowing meanings, but using knowledge with restraint and right intention.
A figure named Vṛṣādarthi instructs a female being (addressed in the Hindi gloss as a yātudhānī, i.e., a demoness/witch-like being) to go to the Seven Sages and Arundhatī, learn and retain their names (and meanings), and then kill them—an act presented as a dark, transgressive command within Bhīṣma’s narration.