Nakula’s Declaration and the Uñchavṛtti Brāhmaṇa’s Superior Merit (Āśvamedhika Parva, Adhyāya 92)
इत्युक्तो जातसंत्रासस्तत्रैवान्तरधीयत । पितृणामभिषड्जाच्च नकुलत्वमुपागत:,मुनिके ऐसा कहनेपर क्रोधरूपधारी धर्म भयभीत हो वहाँसे अदृश्य हो गये और पितरोंके शापसे उन्हें नेवला होना पड़ा
ity ukto jāta-saṁtrāsas tatraivāntaradhīyata | pitṝṇām abhiṣaḍjāc ca nakulatvam upāgataḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: Nghe lời ấy, Dharma—đang mang hình tướng của Cơn Giận—liền kinh hãi và biến mất ngay tại chỗ. Và do lời nguyền của các Pitṛs (Tổ linh), ông phải mang thân phận một con cầy mangut.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse highlights accountability to moral-ritual order: disrespect or conflict involving the Pitṛs can bring binding consequences, and even a figure associated with Dharma is portrayed as subject to fear and to the results of a curse—emphasizing that ethical and ancestral obligations carry real force.
After being addressed, Dharma—described as taking on a wrathful form—becomes frightened and vanishes on the spot. Subsequently, because of the Pitṛs’ curse, he attains the form/state of a mongoose (nakula).