Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha
जीर्णेन वयसा पुत्र न मां क्षुद् बाधतेडपि च । दीर्घकालं तपस्तप्तं न मे मरणतो भयम्,बेटा! जीर्ण अवस्था हो जानेके कारण मुझे भूख अधिक कष्ट नहीं देती है। इसके सिवा मैं दीर्घकालतक तपस्या कर चुका हूँ; इसलिये अब मुझे मरनेका भय नहीं है
jīrṇena vayasā putra na māṃ kṣud bādhate ’pi ca | dīrghakālaṃ tapas taptaṃ na me maraṇato bhayam ||
Der Sohn sprach: „Mein Kind, da ich vom Alter gezeichnet bin, quält mich der Hunger kaum. Zudem habe ich lange Zeit Askese geübt; darum fürchte ich den Tod nicht.“
पुत्र उवाच
Long practice of tapas and inner discipline can lessen attachment to the body and reduce fear of death; with maturity and detachment, even basic hardships like hunger lose their power to disturb the mind.
In a dialogue, the speaker (introduced as ‘the son’) addresses someone affectionately as ‘putra’ (“my child”) and explains his condition: advanced age makes hunger less oppressive, and his long austerities have made him unafraid of dying.