Shloka 20
Āstīka-stuti at Janamejaya’s Sacrifice (आस्तीकस्तुतिः / यज्ञप्रशंसा)
गच्छाम्यहं तं त्वरित: सद्य: कर्तुमपज्वरम् । मयाभिपन्नं तं चापि न सर्पो धर्षयिष्यति
gacchāmy ahaṃ taṃ tvaritaḥ sadyaḥ kartum apajvaram | mayābhipannaṃ taṃ cāpi na sarpo dharṣayiṣyati ||
काश्यप उवाच—अहं तं त्वरितः सद्यः गत्वा विषज्वरात् तत्क्षणमेव मोचयिष्यामि। मयाभिपन्नं च तं नृपं कश्चन सर्पो न धर्षयिष्यति।
काश्यप उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical impulse to protect life through knowledge and timely action: a capable healer feels responsible to intervene, and protection (śaraṇa) is portrayed as a real moral force that can restrain harm.
Kaśyapa, famed for his power to neutralize poison, declares that he is rushing to save the threatened king from the deadly effects of a serpent’s bite; he asserts that once the king is under his protection, the serpent will not be able to harm him.