Shloka 21
उद्योगपर्व अध्याय १३३ — संजये मातृउपदेशः
Udyoga Parva Adhyaya 133 — A Mother’s Counsel to Saṃjaya
बेटा! अपार समुद्रमें डूबते हुए हमलोगोंको तू पार लगानेवाला हो। नौकाविहीन अगाध जलराशि (महान् संकट)-में तू हमारे लिये नौका हो जा। हमारे लिये कोई स्थान नहीं रह गया है
vatsa! apāra-samudre nimajjataḥ asmān tvaṁ pāraṁ netā bhava. naukā-vihīne agādhe jala-rāśau (mahati saṅkaṭe) tvaṁ asmākaṁ nāvā bhava. asmākaṁ sthānaṁ na avaśiṣṭam; tvaṁ sthānaṁ bhava. vayaṁ mṛta-prāyāḥ; tvaṁ asmān jīvanaṁ dehi.
Mein Kind! Wir versinken in einem grenzenlosen Ozean—sei du der, der uns ans ferne Ufer trägt. In dieser tiefen, bootlosen Flut der Gefahr werde du unser Boot. Uns ist kein Zufluchtsort geblieben—werde du unsere Zuflucht. Wir sind dem Tod gleich—schenke uns Leben.
पुत्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
When others are overwhelmed by संकट (peril) and have no आश्रय (refuge), the one who has capacity and closeness is ethically urged to become their ‘boat’—a means of rescue. The verse frames help not as optional kindness but as life-giving responsibility.
A speaker identified as ‘the son’ pleads with the addressed person (called ‘child/son’ in affectionate address) to save ‘us’ from a dire situation, using sustained metaphors: drowning in a boundless ocean, lacking a boat, having no place to stand, and being near death—therefore asking for deliverance and renewed life.