Shloka 29
कृपकृपी-जननम्
The Birth of Kṛpa and Kṛpī; Kṛpa’s Attainment of Astras
इष्टं दत्तं तपस्तप्तं नियमश्न स्वनुछ्ित: । सर्वमेवानपत्यस्य न पावनमिहोच्यते
iṣṭaṃ dattaṃ tapastaptaṃ niyamaś ca svanuṣṭhitaḥ | sarvam evānapatyasya na pāvanam ihocyate ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Even if a man without offspring has duly performed sacrifices, given gifts, practiced austerities, and observed disciplines well, still all of it is not declared purifying for him in this world.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts that, within the epic’s dharma framework, sacrifices, charity, austerity, and observances are not regarded as fully purifying for a person who has no offspring—highlighting progeny as a key pillar of social-religious legitimacy and continuity.
Vaiśampāyana, narrating the Mahābhārata, states a general dharma-principle about the perceived religious and social incompleteness of a childless life, setting ethical context for concerns about lineage and succession in the surrounding story.