Shloka 1
भीकम (2 अमान त्रिचत्वारिशो<् ध्याय: तक्षकका धन देकर काश्यपको लौटा देना और छलसे राजा परीक्षित्के समीप पहुँचकर उन्हें डँसना तक्षक उवाच यदि दष्टं मयेह त्वं शक्त: किंचिच्चिकित्सितुम् । ततो वृक्ष मया दष्टमिमं जीवय काश्यप
takṣaka uvāca | yadi daṣṭaṁ mayeha tvaṁ śaktaḥ kiṁcic cikitsitum | tato vṛkṣa mayā daṣṭam imaṁ jīvaya kāśyapa ||
Takṣaka berkata: “Wahai Kāśyapa! Jika di dunia ini engkau benar-benar mampu mengubati walau sedikit pun orang yang telah aku gigit, maka hidupkanlah kembali pokok ini—pokok inilah yang telah aku gigit.”
तक्षक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral and philosophical tension between human skill and the seeming inevitability of destined outcomes: Takṣaka demands a concrete test of Kāśyapa’s healing claims, implying that true capability must withstand the most extreme case. It also foreshadows how power, pride, and ulterior motives can distort dharmic action—knowledge and medicine are tested not only by efficacy but by the ethical context in which they are used.
On his way to bite King Parīkṣit, Takṣaka encounters the healer-sage Kāśyapa, who is reputed to be able to counteract snake venom. Takṣaka challenges him by biting a tree and ordering him to revive it, using the tree as a demonstrative test of whether Kāśyapa can truly neutralize Takṣaka’s lethal venom.