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Library: Names of the snakes killed in the sacrifice.
Śaunaka spoke:
O son of Suta, I wish to hear the names of all the serpents who have fallen into the fire during this serpent sacrifice.
Sūta said:
O best knower of Vedas, it is not possible to count the thousands, ten millions, and hundred millions in this due to their multitude.
According to the tradition, listen to the names of the serpents, especially those chief ones offered in the sacrificial fire.
First, understand primarily those who are born in the family of Vāsuki, who are blue-red, white, terrible, huge-bodied, and poisonous.
The mind is completely filled with various concepts, including names for birds, fruits, and mechanical terms, all calculated with precision.
The serpents, known as golden-carrier, refuge, destroyer, and time-toothed, born of Vāsuki, entered the fire.
Listen as I recount those born in the family of Takshaka: Pucchandaka, Mandalaka, Pindabhetta, and Rabhenaka.
The crest is juicy, the limb is strong, growth is stone-like, silent, delicate, and trembling.
Mudgara, Śaśaromā, Sumanā, and Vegavāhana, these serpents born of Takṣaka entered the sacrificial fire.
The white pigeon of the Pāriyātra mountain is thin like a deer, the bird is a mythical creature, and joy and delight are embodied with strong limbs.
These serpents from the family of Airavata entered the sacrificial fire. Listen to me, O noble Brahmin, about the serpents born in the Kauravya lineage.
Aiṇḍila, Kuṇḍala, Muṇḍa, Veṇiskandha, Kumāraka, Bāhuka, Śṛṅgavega, and Dhūrtaka are known as the Pātapātarau.
O Brahman, listen to the serpents born in the family of Dhritarashtra, as I praise them. They are swift as the wind and full of poison.
Shankukarṇa, Pingalaka, Kuṭhāramukha, Mecaka, Pūrṇāṅgada, Pūrṇamukha, Prahasa, Shakuni, and Hari are mentioned here.
Āmāhaṭha, Komaṭhaka, Śvasana, Mānava, Vaṭa, Bhairava, Muṇḍavedāṅga, Piśaṅga, and Udrapāraga are mentioned as significant figures or entities.
The swift bull named Vegavan, possessing great jaws like a grinder, is red-bodied, encompasses all deer, is prosperous, and has red eyes.
Varahaka, Varanaka, Sumitra, Citravedika, Parashara, Tarunaka, Maniskandha, and Aruni are mentioned.
Thus, O Brahman, I have praised the serpents who increase fame. However, due to their large number, not all have been mentioned.
The descendants, including sons and grandsons, of these individuals who have entered the blazing fire, are innumerable.
Seven-headed, two-headed, and five-headed beings, terrible and poisonous like the fire of time, were offered in hundreds of thousands.
They are of great size and power, towering like mountain peaks, with a width of one yojana and a height of two yojanas.
In the great sacrifice, those who could take any form they desired and move at will, who were as intense as blazing fire and poison, were burnt and oppressed by the staff of Brahma.