अस्मिंस् तु लोके नचिरान् मर्यादेयं शुचिस्मिते ॥
स्थापिता येन यस्माच् च तन् मे विस्तरतः शृणु ॥
बभूवोद्दालको नाम महर्षिर् इति नः श्रुतम् ॥
श्वेतकेतुर् इति ख्यातः पुत्रस् तस्याभवन् मुनिः ॥
मर्यादेयं कृता तेन मानुषेष्व् इति नः श्रुतम् ॥
कोपात् कमलपत्राक्षि यदर्थं तन् निबोध मे ॥
श्वेतकेतोः किल पुरा समक्षं मातरं पितुः ॥
जग्राह ब्राह्मणः पाणौ गच्छाव इति चाब्रवीत् ॥
ऋषिपुत्रस् ततः कोपं चकारामर्षितस् तदा ॥
मातरं तां तथा दृष्ट्वा नीयमानां बलाद् इव ॥
asmiṃs tu loke nacirān maryādeyaṃ śucismite ||
sthāpitā yena yasmāc ca tan me vistarataḥ śṛṇu ||
babhūvoddālako nāma maharṣir iti naḥ śrutam ||
śvetaketur iti khyātaḥ putras tasyābhavan muniḥ ||
maryādeyaṃ kṛtā tena mānuṣeṣv iti naḥ śrutam ||
kopāt kamalapatrākṣi yadarthaṃ tan nibodha me ||
śvetaketoḥ kila purā samakṣaṃ mātaraṃ pituḥ ||
jagrāha brāhmaṇaḥ pāṇau gacchāva iti cābravīt ||
ṛṣiputras tataḥ kopaṃ cakārāmarṣitas tadā ||
mātaraṃ tāṃ tathā dṛṣṭvā nīyamānāṃ balād iva ||
«But in this world, recently, this limit, O bright-smiling one, by whom and for what reason it was established — hear that from me in full. There was a great sage named Uddalaka, as we have heard; his son, renowned as Shvetaketu, became a muni. This limit was established by him among men, as we have heard, out of anger, O lotus-eyed one; for what reason — hear me. Once, in the presence of Shvetaketu and his father, a brahmin seized his mother by the hand and said, "Let us go." The sage's son then grew angry, indignant, seeing his mother thus led away as if by force».
f3db76970977 · published Jul 12, 2026, 4:41:49 PM UTC
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Here begins the account of the establishment of conjugal fidelity — a turning point in the history of dharma. It is telling that the new, stricter law is born from a son's moral indignation: Shvetaketu could not bear the sight of his mother being led away by another. Here we see how the conscience of the righteous outpaces custom: what was formerly permitted registered in a pure heart as an outrage, and from this feeling a higher law was born. It is telling that the reform arises not from above but from the living moral sense of a human being — and only then is it established as dharma. Thus the scripture shows that dharma is not only given from above but also grows, being purified through the conscience of the righteous; and the coming prohibition will prove higher than the former freedom.