Shloka 46
Pṛthu Mahārāja’s Homecoming, Sacrificial Assembly, and Instruction on Devotional Kingship
पुत्रेण जयते लोकानिति सत्यवती श्रुति: । ब्रह्मदण्डहत: पापो यद्वेनोऽत्यतरत्तम: ॥ ४६ ॥
putreṇa jayate lokān iti satyavatī śrutiḥ brahma-daṇḍa-hataḥ pāpo yad veno ’tyatarat tamaḥ
They all proclaimed that the Vedic conclusion—“by the deeds of a putra, a son, one conquers the worlds”—had been fulfilled. For Vena, most sinful and slain by the brahma-daṇḍa, the brāhmaṇas’ curse, had fallen into the darkest hellish condition, yet was now delivered from that gloom by his son, Mahārāja Pṛthu.
According to the Vedic version, there is a hellish planet called Put, and one who delivers a person from there is called putra. The purpose of marriage, therefore, is to have a putra, or son who is able to deliver his father, even if the father falls down to the hellish condition of Put. Mahārāja Pṛthu’s father, Vena, was a most sinful person and was therefore cursed to death by the brāhmaṇas. Now all the great saintly persons, sages and brāhmaṇas present in the meeting, after hearing from Mahārāja Pṛthu about his great mission in life, became convinced that the statement of the Vedas had been fully proved. The purpose of accepting a wife in religious marriage, as sanctioned in the Vedas, is to have a putra, a son qualified to deliver his father from the darkest region of hellish life. Marriage is not intended for sense gratification but for getting a son fully qualified to deliver his father. But if a son is raised to become an unqualified demon, how can he deliver his father from hellish life? It is therefore the duty of a father to become a Vaiṣṇava and raise his children to become Vaiṣṇavas; then even if by chance the father falls into a hellish life in his next birth, such a son can deliver him, as Mahārāja Pṛthu delivered his father.
FAQs
This verse affirms the Vedic principle that through a worthy son one can attain higher worlds; even the sinful King Vena was said to cross over darkness due to his son, Pṛthu.
Vena is cited as an example that severe wrongdoing brings punishment, yet the spiritual merit and greatness of a virtuous descendant (Pṛthu) can still uplift the family line.
Focus on raising and becoming virtuous, God-centered persons—because character and devotion in the next generation can transform a family’s destiny more than wealth or status.