Shloka 26
Āstīka Stops the Sarpa-satra; Royal Closure and Protective Phalaśruti (आस्तीकः सर्पसत्रनिवर्तनम्)
तद् वत्से ब्रूहि वत्सं स्वं कुमारं वृद्धसम्मतम् । ममाद्य त्वं सभृत्यस्य मोक्षार्थ वेदवित्तमम्,“अतः वत्से! आज तुम बन्धु-बान्धवोंसहित मेरे जीवनको संकटसे छुड़ानेके लिये वेदवेत्ताओंमें श्रेष्ठ अपने पुत्र कुमार आस्तीकसे कहो। वह बालक होनेपर भी वृद्ध पुरुषोंके लिये भी आदरणीय है”
tad vatse brūhi vatsaṁ svaṁ kumāraṁ vṛddha-sammatam | mamādya tvaṁ sabhṛtyasya mokṣārtha veda-vittamam ||
Therefore, dear child, tell your own son—the young Āstīka, esteemed even by elders—to act. Today, together with my attendants, I seek deliverance from this peril; so speak to that foremost knower of the Veda, that he may free me.
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic reliance on true knowledge and worthy counsel: even a young person, if grounded in Vedic wisdom and recognized by elders, can become the proper agent of rescue and right action.
Śaunaka urges a woman addressed affectionately as ‘vatse’ to send word to her son Āstīka—renowned for Vedic learning—so that he may intervene and secure deliverance from an immediate danger affecting Śaunaka and his attendants.