Shloka 10
सर्पसत्रे हुतानां नागानां नामपरिगणनम् | Enumeration of Nāgas Consumed in the Sarpasatra Fire
उच्चावचाक्ष बहवो नानावर्णा विषोल्बणा: । घोराश्न॒ परिघप्रख्या दन्न्दशूका महाबला: । प्रपेतुरग्नावुरगा मातृवाग्दण्डपीडिता:,भयंकर विषवाले छोटे-बड़े अनेक रंगके बहु-संख्यक सर्प, जो देखनेमें भयानक, परिघके समान मोटे, अकारण ही डँस लेनेवाले और अत्यन्त शक्तिशाली थे, अपनी माताके शापसे पीड़ित होकर स्वयं ही आगमें पड़ रहे थे
Janamejaya uvāca |
Uccāvacākṣā bahavo nānāvarṇā viṣolbaṇāḥ |
Ghorāś ca parighaprakhyā daṃdaśūkā mahābalāḥ |
Prapetur agnāv uragā mātṛvāgdaṇḍapīḍitāḥ ||
Janamejaya disse: “Muitas serpentes, grandes e pequenas, de formas variadas e de muitas cores—ferozes com veneno potente—eram terríveis de ver, grossas como clavas de ferro, prontas a morder e de força extraordinária. Oprimidas pela força punitiva da maldição de sua mãe, caíam por si mesmas no fogo.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral weight of speech: a curse (vāk-daṇḍa) can operate like an inexorable force, driving even powerful beings toward destruction. It underscores accountability for words and the karmic consequences that follow harmful utterances.
Janamejaya describes multicolored, terrifying, highly venomous and powerful serpents plunging into the sacrificial fire, compelled by the affliction of their mother’s curse—an image of the snake clan being drawn into fiery destruction.