Shloka 12
पितर ऊचु. वृद्धों भवान् ब्रह्मचारी यो नस्त्रातुमिहेच्छसि । नतु विप्राग्रय तपसा शक््यते तद् व्यपोहितुम्,पितरोंने कहा--विप्रवर! आप बूढ़े ब्रह्मचारी हैं, जो यहाँ हमारी रक्षा करना चाहते हैं; किंतु हमारा संकट तपस्यासे नहीं टाला जा सकता
pitara ūcuḥ | vṛddho bhavān brahmacārī yo nas trātum ihecchasi | na tu viprāgrya tapasā śakyate tad vyapohitum |
The Fathers said: “Venerable brahmin, you are an aged celibate ascetic who wishes to protect us here. Yet this peril cannot be averted merely by austerity. Some consequences have already taken hold, and even a well-intended protector must recognize the limits of personal power when confronted with an inescapable course of events.”
तक्षक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even great austerity and good intentions have limits; certain dangers arise from forces (often understood as karmic consequence or an already-fixed course of events) that cannot be simply ‘burned away’ by tapas. Dharma includes discerning what can and cannot be prevented.
The Pitṛs (ancestral beings) address an eminent brahmin ascetic who wants to protect them. They acknowledge his virtue and intent but state that their present संकट (peril) cannot be removed through ascetic effort alone.