Shloka 3

Devanagari script

कम्पयन्तश्न सर्वेषामुरगाणां मनांसि च | सर्पानाजुहुवुस्तत्र सर्वानग्निमुखे तदा,वे समस्त सर्पोंके हृदयमें कैँपकँपी पैदा करते हुए उनके नाम ले-लेकर उन सबका वहाँ आगके मुखमें होम करने लगे

Transliteration

kampayantaś ca sarveṣām uragāṇāṁ manāṁsi ca | sarpān ājuhuvus tatra sarvān agnimukhe tadā ||

Translation

ครั้นแล้ว พวกเขาทำให้จิตใจของเหล่าอุรคทั้งปวงสั่นสะท้าน เรียกนามงูทีละตน แล้วถวายพวกมันทั้งสิ้นลงสู่ปากแห่งไฟเป็นอาหุติ

Word by Word

कम्पयन्तःshaking, causing to tremble

सर्वेषाम्of all

उरगाणाम्of the serpents

मनांसिminds

चand

सर्पान्serpents

आजुहुवुःthey offered (as oblation), they sacrificed

तत्रthere

सर्वान्all

अग्नि-मुखेin the mouth of the fire (into the fire)

तदाthen

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Janamejaya

serpents/snakes (uraga/sarpa)

Agni (fire, ‘mouth of fire’)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how ritual power, when driven by vengeance, becomes a vehicle for harm: the act is effective and fear-inducing, but it raises ethical tension about using sacred rites to destroy living beings.

What is happening in the narrative?

During Janamejaya’s serpent-sacrifice (sarpa-satra), the officiants recite the snakes’ names and offer them into the sacrificial fire, causing terror among all serpents as they are drawn toward the fire’s ‘mouth’.