वक्तुम् इच्छामि तु सखे यथा जानासि मां पुरा ॥
न तथा वित्तवान् अस्मि क्षीणं वित्तं हि मे सखे ॥
न च शक्तो ऽस्मि ते कर्तुं मोघम् आगमनं खग ॥
न चाशाम् अस्य विप्रर्षेर् वितथां कर्तुम् उत्सहे ॥
तत् तु दास्यामि यत् कार्यम् इदं संपादयिष्यति ॥
अभिगम्य हताशो हि निवृत्तो दहते कुलम् ॥
नातः परं वैनतेय किं चित् पापिष्ठम् उच्यते ॥
यथाशानाशनं लोके देहि नास्तीति वा वचः ॥
हताशो ह्य् अकृतार्थः सन् हतः संभावितो नरः ॥
हिनस्ति तस्य पुत्रांश् च पौत्रांश् चाकुर्वतो ऽर्थिनाम् ॥
vaktum icchāmi tu sakhe yathā jānāsi māṃ purā ||
na tathā vittavān asmi kṣīṇaṃ vittaṃ hi me sakhe ||
na ca śakto 'smi te kartuṃ mogham āgamanaṃ khaga ||
na cāśām asya viprarṣer vitathāṃ kartum utsahe ||
tat tu dāsyāmi yat kāryam idaṃ saṃpādayiṣyati ||
abhigamya hatāśo hi nivṛtto dahate kulam ||
nātaḥ paraṃ vainateya kiṃ cit pāpiṣṭham ucyate ||
yathāśānāśanaṃ loke dehi nāstīti vā vacaḥ ||
hatāśo hy akṛtārthaḥ san hataḥ saṃbhāvito naraḥ ||
hinasti tasya putrāṃś ca pautrāṃś cākurvato 'rthinām ||
Yayāti continued: 'But, my friend, I wish to tell you what you yourself have known about me from times past: I am no longer so wealthy. My riches are exhausted, O friend. And yet, O bird, I cannot let your coming be in vain, nor do I dare turn this brahmin sage's hope into falsehood. I shall give what will accomplish this task. For a petitioner who comes with hope and returns disappointed burns the family. O son of Vinatā, there is nothing in the world more sinful than destroying hope with the words "give" — and then "there is none." A man who has been received with honor but sent away with hope dashed and his purpose unattained is, as though slain himself, one who destroys the sons and grandsons of him who failed to fulfill the petitioner's request.'
4a19618080d2 · published Jul 17, 2026, 5:35:25 AM UTC
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Yayāti honestly acknowledges the limits of his means, but he does not hide behind them. His words reveal the moral weight of a promise and of hospitality: one must not kindle a petitioner's hope and then leave him with nothing. Here dharma demands not showy generosity but responsibility for the expectation that has arisen in the one who asks.