Shloka 58
Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha
पुत्रार्थो विहितो होष वार्धके परिपालनम् | श्रुतिरेषा हि विप्रषें त्रिषु लोकेषु शाश्वती
putrārtho vihito hoṣa vārdhake paripālanam | śrutir eṣā hi vipraṛṣe triṣu lokeṣu śāśvatī ||
“হে বিপ্রর্ষি! পুত্রের বিধেয় উদ্দেশ্য এই—বার্ধক্যে পিতার পালন করা। এই শাশ্বত শ্রুতি ত্রিলোকে প্রসিদ্ধ।”
पुत्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
That the dharmic purpose of having a son includes the obligation to protect, maintain, and personally care for one’s father in old age; this duty is grounded in śruti (Vedic authority) and treated as universally valid.
A son is speaking to a revered Brahmarṣi, justifying or affirming a course of action by citing an established śruti principle: filial responsibility—especially the care of parents in their vulnerable old age—is a timeless norm recognized across the three worlds.