Shloka 19
Kāmyake Pāṇḍavānāṃ Bhojana-vyavasthā
Provisioning and Welfare in the Kāmyaka Forest
येन पूर्व महात्मान: खनमाना रसातलम् | दर्शनादेव निहता: सगरस्यात्मजा विभो,“महर्षे! पूर्वकालमें रसातलको खोदनेवाले सगरके महामना पुत्र उन्हीं कपिलकी दृष्टिमात्र पड़नेसे भस्म हो गये थे
yena pūrva mahātmānaḥ khanamānā rasātalam | darśanād eva nihatāḥ sagarasyātmajā vibho ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Hỡi bậc hùng lực! Thuở xưa, những người con cao thượng của Sagara, khi đào xuống hướng về Rasātala, đã bị giết chỉ bởi cái nhìn của hiền triết Kapila.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral weight of approaching a great ascetic (or a being of spiritual power) without humility or restraint: reckless, forceful action—especially when driven by pride or accusation—can bring swift ruin. It underscores that tapas and sanctity are potent, and ethical conduct requires reverence and self-control.
Vaiśampāyana recalls an earlier episode: Sagara’s sons, searching and digging down toward the netherworld (Rasātala), encounter Kapila; by Kapila’s mere glance they are destroyed. The line functions as a remembered precedent within the larger Vana Parva narration.