**"Oh boy, oh boy, OH BOY!"** I exclaimed, bouncing slightly on my mat. "This is where the story takes a turn that nobody—and I mean NOBODY—sees coming! Are you ready for your minds to be completely blown?"
The sages were all staring at me with anticipation. *Perfect. Time to deliver the most unexpected philosophical smackdown in literature.*
"So there's Ruru," I began, gesturing dramatically, "standing over this poor old serpent with his death-staff raised, probably feeling very righteous about his crusade of vengeance. This is his moment! Time to strike another blow for his tragic love story!"
"And the serpent asks him, 'Dude, what did I ever do to you?' So Ruru launches into his whole tragic backstory speech!"
I stood up to act it out: "'My beloved wife was killed by a snake! I swore a mighty oath to destroy every serpent I find! You're a snake, therefore you must die! Justice demands it!'"
"He's basically doing the whole 'my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die' routine, except less elegant and more... genocidal."
"But then," I said, my voice taking on the tone of someone about to reveal a game-changing secret, "this old serpent delivers what might be the most polite intellectual destruction I've ever heard!"
"He goes: 'Okay, first of all, Brahmana, the snakes that actually bite people? Totally different type from us Dundubhas. We're basically snakes in name only!'"
"And THEN he drops this absolute wisdom bomb: 'We suffer all the same bad stuff as regular serpents, but we don't get ANY of the benefits! It's like being blamed for someone else's crimes while getting none of their perks!'"
I paused to let that sink in.
"Basically, this serpent just delivered a masterclass in 'Why Collective Punishment Is Stupid 101' while literally staring death in the face!"
"And Ruru..." I said, building the suspense, "Ruru, who has spent who knows how long on his snake-killing spree, suddenly stops and goes, 'Oh. OH. That's... actually a really good point.'"
"The text says he saw the serpent was 'bewildered with fear'—and something about that fear, combined with the serpent's perfectly reasonable argument, just hits him right in the conscience!"
"Instead of murder, he chooses... conversation!"
"Ruru completely changes his tone!" I continued excitedly. "'Tell me fully, O snake, who are you?' Not 'prepare to die!' but 'help me understand who you really are!'"
"It's like watching someone's entire worldview shift in real-time! From 'all snakes must die' to 'wait, maybe I should actually learn something about individuals before I murder them!'"
"Character growth speedrun, people! Zero to enlightened in under five minutes!"
"And then," I said, grinning wickedly, "the serpent drops the most INSANE plot twist in the entire story!"
"'Oh, by the way, Ruru, I'm actually a sage named Sahasrapat who got cursed into snake form by another Brahmana!'"
I let that hang in the air for a moment.
"A FELLOW SAGE! Ruru almost murdered a colleague! A brother in the spiritual community! Someone who's probably been to the same conferences and religious gatherings!"
"Do you understand what just happened here?" I asked, looking around at the stunned sages. "Ruru's entire revenge quest—his noble crusade for justice—nearly led him to murder an innocent victim who is EXACTLY like him!"
"It's the ultimate 'check your prejudices' moment! The enemy he wanted to destroy turns out to be his spiritual brother!"
"If that serpent hadn't been wise enough to argue for his life, Ruru would have committed the most tragically ironic murder in history!"
"And what does Ruru do with this earth-shattering revelation?" I asked. "Does he get defensive? Does he make excuses? Does he try to justify his almost-mistake?"
"NOPE! He immediately asks the questions that show he's truly learned something: 'What were you cursed for? How long will this form last?'"
"He's gone from wanting to inflict suffering to wanting to understand and maybe even help alleviate it!"
"This whole encounter," I said, settling back down, "is basically a crash course in why revenge thinking is dangerous! Ruru thought he was on a righteous mission, but he was actually one conversation away from becoming a tragic villain!"
"The story shows us that trauma can make us see enemies everywhere, even among people who should be our allies. But it also shows that wisdom and compassion can reach us even when we're at our most destructive!"
Saunaka was nodding thoughtfully. "A remarkable demonstration of how quickly understanding can replace hatred when we actually listen to others."
"RIGHT?!" I exclaimed. "And the best part is, we're about to learn Sahasrapat's story—which is going to teach us even MORE about how complicated justice can be, and how actions we think are harmless can have massive consequences!"
"Plus," I added with a grin, "this is a perfect example of how the best teachers often come from the most unexpected places. Sometimes the person you're about to harm is exactly the one who can save you from becoming something terrible!"
"Ruru almost became a monster, but a wise serpent turned him back into a student. Sometimes your enemies aren't your enemies—they're your teachers in disguise!"