Adi Parva C10

Sauti continued:

Ruru tightened his grip on the staff and glared at the old serpent.

“My wife,” he said, his voice trembling with remembered pain, “was as dear to me as my own life.

She was struck down by a snake's venom.

On that day, as I stood beside her lifeless body, I swore a terrible oath.

I vowed that every snake I encountered would die by my hand.

That is why I have come to kill you.

Today, you shall lose your life.”

The old dundubha remained calm.

“O Brahmin,” the serpent replied, “there are indeed snakes that bite and kill human beings.

But not all creatures that bear the name of snake are alike.

We dundubhas do not harm mankind.

We possess neither the same nature nor the same behavior as the venomous serpents you hate.

You judge us all as one, yet we do not share the same deeds.

We may share the same misfortune of being called serpents, but we do not share the same fortune.

We may share the same sorrows, but not the same joys.

A man who understands righteousness should know how to distinguish one being from another.

Therefore, you should not kill the dundubhas.”

The words struck Ruru unexpectedly.

This was not the speech of an ordinary serpent.

The creature spoke with wisdom and calm reasoning.

For a moment, Ruru hesitated.

A strange fear crept into his mind.

“What if this is no ordinary snake?” he thought. “What if it is a sage disguised by some curse?”

His anger began to cool.

Lowering his weapon, he chose not to strike.

Instead, he addressed the serpent respectfully.

“O snake,” he said, “your words are wise.

Tell me, if you wish, how you came to possess such unusual understanding.

Who are you really?

How did you come to exist in this form?”

The old dundubha sighed.

Then he revealed the truth.

“O Ruru, long ago I was not a serpent at all.

I was a sage named Sahasrapat.

Through the curse of a Brahmin, I was transformed into this form and condemned to live as a snake.”

Ruru listened with growing curiosity.

The hatred that had filled him only moments before gave way to wonder.

“A sage?” he asked.

“O noble one, what happened?

What angered the Brahmin so greatly that he cursed you?

And how long must you remain trapped in this body before the curse comes to an end?”

Thus began the tale of Sahasrapat, a story that would teach Ruru an important lesson about justice, anger, and the danger of judging all beings by the actions of a few.

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