Shloka 3
सर्पसत्रे हुतानां नागानां नामपरिगणनम् | Enumeration of Nāgas Consumed in the Sarpasatra Fire
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
kampayantaś ca sarveṣām uragāṇāṁ manāṁsi ca | sarpān ājuhuvus tatra sarvān agnimukhe tadā ||
Wika ni Janamejaya: “Pagkaraan, habang nagpapatuloy ang ritwal, tinawag nila ang mga ahas sa kani-kanilang pangalan at inihandog ang mga ito sa bibig ng apoy—kakila-kilabot na animo’y pinanginginig ang puso at diwa ng lahat ng serpiyente.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.
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’.