तक्षकस् तु न तत्रासीत् सर्पराजो महाबलः ॥
दह्यमाने वने तस्मिन् कुरुक्षेत्रे ऽभवत् तदा ॥
अश्वसेनस् तु तत्रासीत् तक्षकस्य सुतो बली ॥
स यत्नम् अकरोत् तीव्रं मोक्षार्थं हव्यवाहनात् ॥
न शशाक विनिर्गन्तुं कौन्तेयशरपीडितः ॥
मोक्षयाम् आस तं माता निगीर्य भुजगात्मजा ॥
takṣakas tu na tatrāsīt sarparājo mahābalaḥ ||
dahyamāne vane tasmin kurukṣetre 'bhavat tadā ||
aśvasenas tu tatrāsīt takṣakasya suto balī ||
sa yatnam akarot tīvraṃ mokṣārthaṃ havyavāhanāt ||
na śaśāka vinirgantuṃ kaunteyaśarapīḍitaḥ ||
mokṣayām āsa taṃ mātā nigīrya bhujagātmajā ||
"Takshaka, however, was not there, the king of serpents, mighty in strength: when that forest burned, he was then at Kurukshetra; Ashvasena, however, was there, the son of Takshaka, powerful; he made a fierce effort to escape the fire; but could not get out, hard pressed by the arrows of Kaunteya; his mother, the serpent's daughter, saved him by swallowing him."
b6833eaf76db · published Jul 12, 2026, 6:11:48 PM UTC
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Here a mother's love dares even to swallow her son to save him. It is significant that the serpent-mother swallows her son to carry him out of the fire: there is no limit a mother will not reach for her child. In this lies the whole strength of maternal love. Thus the scripture reveals a mother's self-sacrifice; and Ashvasena's fate will echo again in time to come.