तन्नैच्छन् दैत्यपतयो महापुरुषचेष्टितम् । न गृह्णीमो वयं पुच्छमहेरङ्गममङ्गलम् । स्वाध्यायश्रुतसम्पन्ना: प्रख्याता जन्मकर्मभि: ॥ ३ ॥
tan naicchan daitya-patayo maha-purusa-cestitam na grhnimo vayam puccham aher angam amangalam svadhyaya-sruta-sampannah prakhyata janma-karmabhih
- tat
- that arrangement
- na aicchan
- not liking
- daitya-patayah
- the leaders of the demons
- maha-purusa
- of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- cestitam
- attempt
- na
- not
- grhnimah
- shall take
- vayam
- all of us (the Daityas)
- puccham
- the tail
- aheh
- of the serpent
- angam
- part of the body
- amangalam
- inauspicious, inferior
- svadhyaya
- with Vedic study
- sruta
- and Vedic knowledge
- sampannah
- fully equipped
- prakhyatah
- prominent
- janma-karmabhih
- by birth and activities
The leaders of the demons thought it unwise to hold the tail, the inauspicious portion of the snake. Instead, they wanted to hold the front, which had been taken by the Personality of Godhead and the demigods, because that portion was auspicious and glorious. Thus the demons, on the plea that they were all highly advanced students of Vedic knowledge and were all famous for their birth and activities, protested that they wanted to hold the front of the snake.