Shloka 4
परिक्षिद्वृत्तान्तप्रश्नः
Inquiry into Parīkṣit’s Conduct and the Beginnings of His Downfall
एकतन्त्ववशिष्टं वै वीरणस्तम्बमाश्रितान् | त॑ तन्तुं च शनैराखुमाददानं बिलेशयम्,वे मुनि वायु पीते और निराहार रहते थे; इसलिये दिन-पर-दिन सूखते चले जाते थे। एक दिन उन्होंने पितरोंको देखा, जो नीचे मुँह किये एक गड्ढेमें लटक रहे थे। उन्होंने खश नामक तिनकोंके समूहको पकड़ रखा था, जिसकी जड़में केवल एक तन््तु बच गया था। उस बचे हुए तन्तुको भी वहीं बिलमें रहनेवाला एक चूहा धीरे-धीरे खा रहा था
ekatantv-avaśiṣṭaṃ vai vīraṇa-stambham āśritān | taṃ tantuṃ ca śanair ākhur ādadānaṃ bileśayam ||
They were clinging to a clump of vīraṇa grass, of which only a single fibre remained; and in that very burrow, a rat was slowly gnawing away at the last remaining thread.
तक्षक उवाच
Educational Q&A
When one’s remaining support is as thin as a single thread, delay is dangerous: destructive forces continue steadily. The verse functions as a moral image urging timely, responsible action—especially regarding duties that sustain family continuity and obligations to ancestors.
Takṣaka describes a vivid scene: beings cling to a tuft of vīraṇa grass with only one fibre left, while a rat living in a burrow slowly gnaws that last fibre—signaling imminent collapse unless intervention occurs.