Shounaka Asks Sauti to Recount the Names of Sacrificed Snakes
At the snake-sacrifice, countless serpents were consumed by the ritual fire. The sage Shounaka asks the narrator Sauti to name them. Sauti complies, listing the terrible, powerful chiefs of the great serpent lineages, acknowledging the uncountable multitudes he cannot name.
The narration of the great snake-sacrifice had reached its climax. The sage Shounaka, listening intently, turned to the storyteller Sauti with a request. He wished to hear the names of all the snakes that had fallen into the fire.
Sauti acknowledged the scale of the task. There were thousands, millions, tens of millions. The numbers were beyond counting. But from memory, he could recite the names of the chief ones, the most powerful serpents from the great lineages.
He began with the family of Vasuki, the serpent king. They were of terrible form, with gigantic bodies and virulent poison, their scales coloured blue, red, and white. He named them: Kotika, Manasa, Purna, Saha, Paila, Halisaka, Picchila, Konapa, Chakra, Konavega, Prakalana, Hiranyavaha, Sharana, Kakshaka and Kaladantaka. These were the first to enter the sacrificial fire.
Next came the lineage of Takshaka, the serpent whose attempted escape had nearly derailed the entire rite. Sauti listed their names: Pucchandaka, Mandalaka, Pindabhetta, Rabhenaka, Ucchikha, Surasa, Dranga, Balaheda, Virohana, Shili, Shalakara, Muka, Sukumara, Pravepana, Mudgara, Shasharoma, Sumana and Vegavahana.
Then the snakes from Airavata’s lineage: Paravata, Pariyatra, Pandara, Harina, Krisha, Vihanga, Sharabha, Moda, Pramoda and Samhatangada.
Sauti turned to the Kouravya lineage: Aindila, Kundala, Mundo, Veni, Skandha, Kumaraka, Bahuka, Shringavega, Dhurtaka, Pata and Patara.
Finally, he recited the names from the Dhritarashtra lineage. These snakes were all extremely powerful, swift as the wind, their poison virulent. The list was long: Shankukarna, Pingalaka, Kutharamukha, Mechaka, Purnangada, Purnamukha, Prahasa, Shakuni, Hari, Amahatha, Komathaka, Shvasana, Manava, Vata, Bhairava, Mundavedanga, Pishanga, Udraparaga, Rishabha, Vegavana, Pindaraka, Mahahanu, Raktanga, Sarvasaranga, Samriddha, Pata, Rakshasa, Varahaka, Varanaka, Sumitra, Chitravedika, Parashara, Tarunaka, Maniskandha and Aruni.
Sauti paused. He had recited only the names of the chiefs, all famous for their great deeds. He had not been able to mention all, because there were too many to enumerate. Countless were the numbers of their sons, grandsons and other progeny who fell into the blazing fire.
He described the ones he could not name. Some had seven heads, some two, some five. They were terrible of form and their poison was like the fire at the time of cosmic destruction. They were sacrificed in hundreds and thousands. They had gigantic bodies, great might, and were as large as mountain peaks. Some were as extensive as a yojana, others two yojanas long. They were capable of assuming any form at will and of going anywhere at will. Their poison was as virulent as blazing fire.
They were all burnt there at the great sacrifice, oppressed by the curse of the Brahmana — the curse of Astika’s mother, which had set this entire chain of events in motion.