Shloka 133
अध्याय ५७ — राजोपरिचरवसोः धर्मोपदेशः, सत्यवत्याः उत्पत्तिः, व्यासजन्म च
Adhyāya 57: Indra’s Counsel to King Vasu; Origin of Satyavatī; Birth of Vyāsa
कौरव्यकुलजास्त्वेते प्रविष्टा हव्यवाहनम् । एरक, कुण्डल, वेणी, वेणीस्कन्ध, कुमारक, बाहुक, शंगवेर, धूर्तक, प्रातर और आतक --ये कौरव्य-कुलके नाग यज्ञाग्निमें जल मरे थे
śaunaka uvāca |
kauravyakulajāstvete praviṣṭā havyavāhanam |
erakaḥ kuṇḍalo veṇī veṇīskandhaḥ kumārako bāhukaḥ śaṅgaveras dhūrtakaḥ prātara ātakaś ca—ete kauravya-kulasya nāgā yajñāgnau jvalitāḥ mṛtāḥ |
Śaunaka disse: “Estas serpentes, nascidas na linhagem Kauravya, entraram no fogo do sacrifício. Eraka, Kuṇḍala, Veṇī, Veṇīskandha, Kumāraka, Bāhuka, Śaṅgavera, Dhūrtaka, Prātara e Ātaka — esses Nāgas do clã Kauravya foram queimados até a morte no fogo ardente do rito.”
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how sacred institutions can be corrupted by revenge: when ritual is driven by hostility rather than dharma, it produces catastrophic harm. It implicitly warns that ends pursued through indiscriminate violence—even under a religious form—carry grave moral weight.
Śaunaka lists specific Nāgas of the Kauravya lineage who, during the snake-sacrifice (sarpa-satra), entered the sacrificial fire and were burned to death—an episode within the broader account of the destructive power of Janamejaya’s rite against the serpents.