Shloka 11
Āstīka Stops the Sarpa-satra; Royal Closure and Protective Phalaśruti (आस्तीकः सर्पसत्रनिवर्तनम्)
जुद्वत्स्वृत्विक्ष्वथ तदा सर्पसत्रे महाक्रतौ । अहय: प्रापतंस्तत्र घोरा: प्राणिभयावहा:,उस समय उस महान् यज्ञ सर्पसत्रमें ज्यों-ज्यों ऋत्विजू लोग आहुतियाँ डालते, त्यों-त्यों प्राणिमात्रको भय देनेवाले घोर सर्प वहाँ आ-आकर गिरते थे
judvatsvṛtvijṣv atha tadā sarpasatre mahākratau | ahayaḥ prāpatans tatra ghorāḥ prāṇibhayāvahāḥ ||
Disse Śaunaka: Então, naquele grande rito — o sacrifício das serpentes —, sempre que os sacerdotes oficiantes lançavam as oblações ao fogo, serpentes terríveis, que infundiam medo em todos os seres, iam caindo ali uma após outra.
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the potency of Vedic ritual and simultaneously raises an ethical warning: when sacred power is harnessed for revenge, it can become a mechanism of mass harm, endangering life broadly rather than restoring dharma.
During the great serpent-sacrifice, as the priests offer oblations, dreadful serpents are compelled to come and fall into the sacrificial area/fire, indicating the ritual’s force drawing them in and the escalating destruction at the rite.