Mahabharata — Ashvamedhika Parva, Shloka 25
Kṛṣṇasya Dvārakā-praveśaḥ — Krishna’s Return to Dvārakā and the Raivataka Festival
अपश्यद् भुजग: कश्रित् ते तत्र मणिकुण्डले । ऐरावतकुलोद्धूत: शीघ्रो भूत्वा तदा हि सः
apaśyad bhujagaḥ kaścit te tatra maṇikuṇḍale | airāvatakuloddhūtaḥ śīghro bhūtvā tadā hi saḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Tại đó, một con rắn trông thấy đôi khuyên tai nạm ngọc. Vốn thuộc dòng Airāvata, nó lập tức trở nên mau lẹ và lao tới để chiếm lấy.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how attachment to valuable objects can provoke sudden, reckless action; it implicitly warns that desire (lobha) can awaken danger even from unexpected quarters.
A serpent notices the jeweled earrings in that place and, roused as one of Airāvata’s line, quickly moves—suggesting an imminent attempt to take them or cause harm in pursuit of them.