Shloka 12
Subhadrā-vivāha-saṃsthāpana, Vṛṣṇi–Kuru satkāra, and Abhimanyu-janma
Chapter 213
तत्राभिषेकं कृत्वा स तर्पयित्वा पितामहान् | उत्तितीर्षुर्जलाद राजन्नग्निकार्यचिकीर्षया,राजन! वहाँ स्नान करके पितरोंका तर्पण करनेके पश्चात् अग्निहोत्र करनेके लिये वे जलसे निकलना ही चाहते थे कि नागराजकी पुत्री उलूपीने उनके प्रति आसक्त हो पानीके भीतरसे ही महाबाहु अर्जुनको खींच लिया
tatrābhiṣekaṃ kṛtvā sa tarpayitvā pitāmahān | uttitīrṣur jalād rājann agnikāryacikīrṣayā ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: Ali, tendo tomado o banho ritual e, após oferecer as libações (tarpaṇa) aos veneráveis ancestrais, ó rei, ele estava prestes a erguer-se para fora da água a fim de realizar o rito do fogo (agnihotra). Nesse exato momento, Ulūpī, filha do rei dos Nāgas, tomada de desejo por ele, puxou de dentro das águas o poderoso Arjuna e o arrastou para baixo.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharma as lived practice: Arjuna completes purification and ancestral offerings and intends to proceed to the obligatory fire-rite, showing continuity of daily ritual duty even amid travel and uncertainty; it also hints at how personal desire and unforeseen forces can interrupt righteous intention, setting up a moral tension the narrative will resolve.
After bathing and performing tarpaṇa for the ancestors, Arjuna is about to emerge from the water to perform agnihotra. Ulūpī, the Nāga-king’s daughter, attracted to him, pulls him down from within the water, initiating the Ulūpī–Arjuna episode.