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 ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Thuở trước, khi hiền giả Vasiṣṭha đang ngồi hành lễ sadhyā (tụng niệm lúc hoàng hôn), chúng ta đã có hành vi vô lễ nặng nề đối với ngài. Vì thế, trong cơn giận, ngài nguyền rủa chúng ta rằng: ‘Các ngươi sẽ phải sinh ra từ một bào thai.’”
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.