Shloka 137
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
वृषादर्भिप्रयुक्तैषा निहता मे तपोधना: । दुष्टा हिंस्थादियं पापा युष्मान् प्रत्यग्निसम्भवा
vṛṣādarbhiprayuktaiṣā nihatā me tapodhanāḥ | duṣṭā hiṃsthād iyaṃ pāpā yuṣmān pratyagnisambhavā ||
Wika ni Śunaḥsakha: “Ang masamang babaeng ito, na isinilang mula sa apoy, ay pumatay sa aking yaman ng pag-aayuno at pagninilay—sa aking pinaghirapang mga kabutihang-naipon—sa pamamagitan ng isang toro at damong darbha na ginamit laban sa akin. Siya’y malupit at makasalanan; sinaktan niya ako, at ang kanyang masamang hangarin ay nakatuon din sa inyo.”
शुन:सख उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical gravity of harming ascetic merit (tapas) through malicious or ritualized means: spiritual wealth is portrayed as precious, and its destruction is condemned as wickedness (duṣṭatā, pāpatā), inviting moral accountability.
Śunaḥsakha laments that a fire-born woman has ruined his accumulated tapas, allegedly using a bull and darbha grass as instruments. He denounces her as sinful and warns that her hostility is directed toward the listeners as well.