Shloka 4

Devanagari script

इमे च मां कर्षयन्ति शिशवो मन्दचेतस: । अबह॒श्चविरणैहीना: पूर्वेषां न: परायणा:,ये सांसारिक ज्ञानसे शून्य चित्तवाले शिशु मुझे अपनी ओर आकर्षित करते हैं। इन्हें पाँखें नहीं निकलीं और अभीतक ये पैरोंसे भी हीन हैं, हमारे पितरोंके ये ही आधार हैं

Transliteration

vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | ime ca māṃ karṣayanti śiśavo mandacetasaḥ | abahavaś ca viraṇair hīnāḥ pūrveṣāṃ naḥ parāyaṇāḥ |

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana sagte: „Diese kleinen Kinder, noch von schlichtem Verstand, zerren an meinem Herzen und ziehen mich zu sich. Sie sind noch hilflos — ohne Kraft und noch nicht fest auf den Beinen — und doch sind sie Zuflucht und Fortsetzung der Linie unserer Vorfahren.“

Word by Word

इमेthese

चand

माम्me

कर्षयन्तिdraw/drag, attract

शिशवःchildren, infants

मन्दचेतसःdull-minded

अबाहवःwithout arms

चand

विरणैःwith (their) sinews/veins (lit. 'fibres')

हीनाःdeprived, lacking

पूर्वेषाम्of the former ones/ancestors

नःof us/our

परायणाःrefuge, support; those who are the resort

Speaker

वैशमग्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

children (śiśavaḥ)

ancestors/forefathers (pūrveṣām)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a dharmic obligation: the vulnerable—especially children—create a moral pull on elders, because they embody the continuity and ‘refuge’ of the ancestral line. Compassion and protection are presented as duties tied to lineage and social responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker (Vaiśaṃpāyana) describes being emotionally drawn by helpless children. Though immature and physically weak, they are portrayed as the sustaining support of the family’s forefathers—implying a reason to act with care, restraint, or protection in the surrounding episode.