Shloka 14
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 97: Satyavatī’s appeal and Bhīṣma’s reaffirmation of satya
संध्यां वसिष्ठमासीनं तमत्यभिसूता: पुरा । तेन कोपाद् वयं शप्ता योनौ सम्भवतेति ह
sandhyāṃ vasiṣṭham āsīnaṃ tam atyabhisūtāḥ purā | tena kopād vayaṃ śaptā yonau sambhavateti ha ||
ไวศัมปายนะกล่าวว่า “กาลก่อน เมื่อฤๅษีวสิษฐะนั่งประกอบสันธยา เราได้ประพฤติล่วงเกินอย่างร้ายแรงต่อท่าน; ด้วยเหตุนั้นท่านจึงกริ้วและสาปว่า ‘พวกเจ้าจักบังเกิดจากครรภ์’”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores dharma through the ethic of reverence: disrespect toward a spiritually eminent person—especially during sacred observance—brings serious consequences. It also highlights moral causality (karma-like linkage) where wrongful conduct leads to a corrective or punitive outcome.
Vaiśampāyana recounts a past incident in which certain beings (speaking as 'we') insulted the sage Vasiṣṭha while he was seated for Sandhyā. Angered, Vasiṣṭha pronounced a curse that they would be born through a womb, marking a fall into embodied, ordinary birth.