एवं बहुविधं तस्या निशम्य परिदेवितम् ॥
पिता माता च सा चैव कन्या प्ररुरुदुस् त्रयः ॥
ततः प्ररुदितान् सर्वान् निशम्याथ सुतस् तयोः ॥
उत्फुल्लनयनो बालः कलम् अव्यक्तम् अब्रवीत् ॥
मा रोदीस् तात मा मातर् मा स्वसस् त्वम् इति ब्रुवन् ॥
प्रहसन्न् इव सर्वांस् तान् एकैकं सो ऽपसर्पति ॥
evaṃ bahuvidhaṃ tasyā niśamya paridevitam ||
pitā mātā ca sā caiva kanyā prarurudus trayaḥ ||
tataḥ praruditān sarvān niśamyātha sutas tayoḥ ||
utphullanayano bālaḥ kalam avyaktam abravīt ||
mā rodīs tāta mā mātar mā svasas tvam iti bruvan ||
prahasann iva sarvāṃs tān ekaikaṃ so 'pasarpati ||
Vaishampayana said: "Thus, having heard her manifold lament, father, mother, and the maiden herself — all three wept. Then, hearing them all weeping, their son — a child with wide-open eyes — spoke tenderly and unintelligibly: 'Do not weep, father; do not weep, mother; do not weep, little sister,' and, as though laughing, he crawled toward them, one after another."
95fb3a696674 · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:09:57 PM UTC
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Here, amid hopeless weeping, the babble of an infant sounds — and moves more than any words. It is striking that the child, not understanding the calamity, offers comfort: his 'do not weep' issues from a pure heart, not yet darkened by fear of death. Innocence, as seen here, brings comfort by its very being: where the reasoning of adults is exhausted by grief, there an infant's serenity grants a glimmer of light. It is notable that he crawls toward each of them: a child's love does not discriminate, but embraces all. Thus the verse presents the tenderest moment of the story — an innocent child comforting those who are doomed, itself unaware of doom; and its babble prepares the turn from tears to hope.