पुत्र उवाच
किं नु ते माम् अपश्यन्त्याः पृथिव्या अपि सर्वया ॥
किम् आभरणकृत्यं ते किं भोगैर् जीवितेन वा ॥
मातोवाच
किम् अद्यकानां ये लोका द्विषन्तस् तान् अवाप्नुयुः ॥
ये त्व् आदृतात्मनां लोकाः सुहृदस् तान् व्रजन्तु नः ॥
भृत्यैर् विहीयमानानां परपिण्डोपजीविनाम् ॥
कृपणानाम् असत्त्वानां मा वृत्तिम् अनुवर्तिथाः ॥
अनु त्वां तात जीवन्तु ब्राह्मणाः सुहृदस् तथा ॥
पर्जन्यम् इव भूतानि देवा इव शतक्रतुम् ॥
यम् आजीवन्ति पुरुषं सर्वभूतानि संजय ॥
पक्वं द्रुमम् इवासाद्य तस्य जीवितम् अर्थवत् ॥
putra uvāca
kiṃ nu te mām apaśyantyāḥ pṛthivyā api sarvayā ||
kim ābharaṇakṛtyaṃ te kiṃ bhogair jīvitena vā ||
mātovāca
kim adyakānāṃ ye lokā dviṣantas tān avāpnuyuḥ ||
ye tv ādṛtātmanāṃ lokāḥ suhṛdas tān vrajantu naḥ ||
bhṛtyair vihīyamānānāṃ parapiṇḍopajīvinām ||
kṛpaṇānām asattvānāṃ mā vṛttim anuvartithāḥ ||
anu tvāṃ tāta jīvantu brāhmaṇāḥ suhṛdas tathā ||
parjanyam iva bhūtāni devā iva śatakratum ||
yam ājīvanti puruṣaṃ sarvabhūtāni saṃjaya ||
pakvaṃ drumam ivāsādya tasya jīvitam arthavat ||
The son said: 'If you cannot see me, what is even the whole earth to you? What need have you of ornaments, of pleasures, or of life itself?' The mother said: 'Let our enemies obtain the worlds of today's weaklings; but let the worlds of those who honor their own dignity fall to our friends. Do not follow the way of life of the wretched and powerless, abandoned by their servants and living off another's crumbs. Let brahmins and friends live by you, my son, as living beings live by the rain cloud and the gods by Shatakratu. The man by whom all beings live, O Sanjaya, is like a ripe tree: his life has meaning.'
f582815b9eec · published Jul 17, 2026, 5:59:56 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The son's reply shifts the conversation onto personal ground, but the mother brings it back to public duty. A ruler's life has meaning when brahmins, friends, and all dependent beings rest upon it.