Shloka 20
उद्योगपर्व अध्याय १३३ — संजये मातृउपदेशः
Udyoga Parva Adhyaya 133 — A Mother’s Counsel to Saṃjaya
वयमाश्रयणीया: सम नाश्रितार: परस्य च | सान्यमासाद्य जीवन्ती परित्यक्ष्यामि जीवितम्
vayam āśrayaṇīyāḥ sama nāśritāraḥ parasya ca | sānyam āsādya jīvantī parityakṣyāmi jīvitam ||
Wir waren stets die, die Zuflucht gewähren—niemals die, die von einem anderen abhängig leben. Doch wenn ich nun mein Leben nur erhalten kann, indem ich bei jemand anderem Schutz suche, dann werde ich ein solches Leben gänzlich aufgeben.
पुत्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts an ethic of dignity and responsibility: one should strive to be a support for others rather than live by dependence; if circumstances force humiliating dependence, the speaker prefers renunciation of life to compromising honor.
In a tense pre-war context of the Udyoga Parva, the speaker (identified only as “the child/son” in the colophon) voices a firm resolve: their lineage or household has been a refuge to others, and they refuse to continue living if reduced to seeking another’s shelter.