Shloka 50
Āstīka-stuti at Janamejaya’s Sacrifice (आस्तीकस्तुतिः / यज्ञप्रशंसा)
इयं दुरात्मता तस्य काश्यपं यो न्यवर्तयत् । यदा55गच्छेत् स वै विप्रो ननु जीवेत् पिता मम
iyaṁ durātmatā tasya kāśyapaṁ yo nyavartayat | yadāgacchet sa vai vipro nanu jīvet pitā mama |
ஜனமேஜயன் கூறினான்—அவனுடைய மிகப் பெரிய தீமை இதுவே: காஷ்யபரைத் திருப்பி அனுப்பினான். அந்தப் பிராமணர் வந்திருந்தால், என் தந்தை நிச்சயமாக உயிருடன் இருந்திருப்பார்.
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical culpability in obstructing a life-saving act: preventing a righteous sage from arriving is framed as a grave wrongdoing, emphasizing responsibility for consequences caused by deliberate interference.
Janamejaya laments that someone turned the sage Kāśyapa back; he believes that if Kāśyapa had reached in time, Parīkṣit (Janamejaya’s father) would have survived—an accusation that fuels the moral outrage underlying the later serpent-sacrifice narrative.