Shloka 50
Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ
King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt
स्कन्नमात्रं च तद् रेतो वृक्षपत्रेण भूमिप: । प्रतिजग्राह मिथ्या मे न पतेद् रेत इत्युत,उसके स्खलित होते ही राजाने यह सोचकर कि मेरा वीर्य व्यर्थ न जाय, उसे वृक्षके पत्तेपर उठा लिया
skannamātraṃ ca tad reto vṛkṣapatreṇa bhūmipaḥ | pratijagrāha mithyā me na pated reto ity uta ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: Sobald jener Samen ausgestoßen war, fing der König ihn hastig auf einem Baumblatt auf, in dem Gedanken: „Mein Same soll nicht vergeblich zu Boden fallen.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight placed on progeny and continuity of lineage in royal dharma: even an unintended loss of seed is treated as something not to be wasted, reflecting a worldview where generative power is tied to duty and future responsibility.
At the moment semen is discharged, the king hastily catches it on a tree leaf, explicitly thinking that it should not be wasted or fall uselessly—an action that sets up subsequent narrative consequences connected with birth and lineage.