Shloka 23
अध्याय ३४ — एलापत्रस्योपदेशः
Elāpatra’s Counsel on the Nāgas’ Deliverance
सोमस्थानमिदं चेति दर्भास्ते लिलिहुस्तदा । ततो द्विधाकृता जिद्दा: सर्पाणां तेन कर्मणा,फिर यह समझकर कि यहाँ अमृत रखा गया था, इसलिये सम्भव है इसमें उसका कुछ अंश लगा हो, सर्पोने उस समय कुशोंको चाटना शुरू किया। ऐसा करनेसे सर्पोंकी जीभके दो भाग हो गये
somasthānam idaṃ ceti darbhas te lilihus tadā | tato dvidhākṛtā jihvāḥ sarpāṇāṃ tena karmaṇā ||
Disse Śakra: “Pensando: ‘Este deve ser o lugar do Soma’, as serpentes começaram a lamber aquelas lâminas de capim kuśa, supondo que algum vestígio do néctar pudesse ter aderido ali. Por esse mesmo ato, as línguas das serpentes se fenderam em duas.”
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions driven by craving and assumption can produce lasting consequences; the verse presents a moral-causal link (karma) where a misguided attempt to obtain nectar results in a permanent bodily change.
Indra explains that the serpents, believing the spot to be the Soma-place and hoping for remnants of amṛta, lick the kuśa grass; as a consequence of that act, their tongues become forked.