Shloka 12

Devanagari script

देवा ऊचु वासुकिर्नागराजो<यं दुःखितो ज्ञातिकारणात्‌ । अभिशाप: स मातुस्तु भगवन्‌ न भवेत्‌ कथम्‌,देवता बोले--भगवन्‌! ये नागराज वासुकि अपने जाति-भाइयोंके लिये बहुत दुःखी हैं। कौन-सा ऐसा उपाय है, जिससे माताका शाप इन लोगोंपर लागू न हो

Transliteration

devā ūcuḥ—vāsukir nāgarājo 'yaṃ duḥkhito jñātikāraṇāt | abhiśāpaḥ sa mātus tu bhagavan na bhavet katham ||

Translation

Боги сказали: «О Благословенный! Этот царь змей Васуки скорбит из‑за своих родичей. Каким образом сделать так, чтобы проклятие его матери не исполнилось над ними?»

Word by Word

देवाःthe gods

ऊचुःsaid

वासुकिःVāsuki

नागराजःking of serpents

अयम्this (one)

दुःखितःdistressed, sorrowful

ज्ञाति-कारणात्because of (his) kinsmen; due to relatives

अभिशापःcurse

सःthat (curse)

मातुःof the mother

तुbut, indeed

भगवन्O Lord

नnot

भवेत्may be / could be / should become

कथम्how?

Speaker

आस्तीक उवाच

Characters & Entities

द

देवाः (the gods)

व

वासुकि (Vāsuki)

न

नागराज (king of the Nāgas)

म

माता (the mother of Vāsuki; the curser)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights compassionate responsibility toward one’s kin and the ethical urgency to seek a righteous remedy when a harmful consequence (a curse) threatens a community; it frames fate as something approached through counsel, right means, and divine guidance rather than despair.

What is happening in the narrative?

The gods observe Vāsuki, the Nāga-king, grieving for his relatives because of a maternal curse. They ask a revered figure (addressed as “Bhagavan”) what method could prevent that curse from taking effect on the Nāgas.