Shloka 151
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 3 — Janamejaya’s Rite, Dhaumya’s Parīkṣā, and Uttanka’s Kuṇḍala Quest (सर्पसत्रप्रस्तावना–गुरुपरीक्षा–उत्तङ्कोपाख्यान)
नागा मे वशमीयुरिति स चैन पुरुष: पुनर॒ुवाच एतमश्वमपाने धमस्वेति,“सब नाग मेरे अधीन हो जायँ"--उनके ऐसा कहनेपर वह पुरुष पुनः उत्तंकसे बोला --“इस घोड़ेकी गुदामें फूँक मारो”
nāgā me vaśam īyur iti sa cainaṁ puruṣaḥ punar uvāca: “etam aśvam apāne dhamasveti.”
Nang sabihin niya, “Nawa’y mapasailalim sa aking kapangyarihan ang mga Nāga,” muling nagsalita ang lalaking iyon kay Uttanka: “Hipan mo ang puwit ng kabayong ito.”
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights a motif of dharmic testing: a seeker may be commanded to perform an outwardly degrading act to prove resolve and obedience to a larger aim, reminding readers to distinguish surface impropriety from the deeper intention of a trial.
After the wish that the Nāgas become subject to him is voiced, a mysterious man instructs Uttanka to blow into a horse’s anus—an unusual directive that functions as a ritualized or magical trigger within the Uttanka–Nāga episode.