न त्व् अहं तव धर्मज्ञ पश्याम्य् उपचयं क्व चित् ॥
न हि ते सेविता वृद्धा य एवं धर्मम् अब्रुवन् ॥
इष्टं दत्तम् अधीतं च यज्ञाश् च बहुदक्षिणाः ॥
सर्वम् एतद् अपत्यस्य कलां नार्हति षोडशीम् ॥
व्रतोपवासैर् बहुभिः कृतं भवति भीष्म यत् ॥
सर्वं तद् अनपत्यस्य मोघं भवति निश्चयात् ॥
na tv ahaṃ tava dharmajña paśyāmy upacayaṃ kva cit ||
na hi te sevitā vṛddhā ya evaṃ dharmam abruvan ||
iṣṭaṃ dattam adhītaṃ ca yajñāś ca bahudakṣiṇāḥ ||
sarvam etad apatyasya kalāṃ nārhati ṣoḍaśīm ||
vratopavāsair bahubhiḥ kṛtaṃ bhavati bhīṣma yat ||
sarvaṃ tad anapatyasya moghaṃ bhavati niścayāt ||
"I see no merit of yours anywhere, O 'knower of dharma', for you did not serve the elders who declared dharma thus. Sacrifice, gifts, study [of the Vedas], and sacrifices with abundant dakshina — all this does not equal a sixteenth part of offspring. Whatever is accomplished through many vows and fasts, O Bhishma, all of it is surely vain for one without offspring."
373c40fe3ae1 · publicado 16 jul 2026, 15:40:28 UTC
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Shishupala raises worldly belief to the status of law: childlessness, he claims, reduces every sacrifice and feat to dust. Telling is how earthbound this measure is — offspring set above the study of the Vedas, above giving, above vows and fasts. But scripture knows otherwise: the path of continence and knowledge is no lesser than the path of family, and many saints, childless in body, brought forth the imperishable fruit of the spirit. The verse teaches that not every good is measured by the continuation of one's line: there is an inheritance higher than sons — righteousness, faithfulness to one's vow, devotion to the Lord. And whoever reduces everything to the flesh and its continuation does not know the higher purposes of a human being, for which body and lineage are but a footstool.