Shloka 49
(अन्तरात्मैव सर्वस्य पुत्रनाम्नोच्यते सदा । गती रूपं च चेष्टा च आवर्ता लक्षणानि च॒ ।। पितृणां यानि दृश्यन्ते पुत्राणां सन्ति तानि च | तेषां शीलाचारगुणास्तत्सम्पर्काच्छुभाशुभा: ।।) “सबका अन्तरात्मा ही सदा पुत्र नामसे प्रतिपादित होता है। पिताकी जैसी चाल होती है, जैसे रूप, चेष्टा, आवर्त (भँवर) और लक्षण आदि होते हैं, पुत्रमें भी वैसी ही चाल और वैसे ही रूप-लक्षण आदि देखे जाते हैं। पिताके सम्पर्कसे ही पुत्रोंमें शुभ-अशुभ शील, गुण एवं आचार आदि आते हैं। भार्यायां जनित॑ पुत्रमादर्शेष्विव चाननम् | ह्वादते जनिता प्रेक्ष्य स्वर्ग प्राप्पेव पुण्यकृत्,'जैसे दर्पणमें अपना मुँह देखा जाता है, उसी प्रकार पत्नीके गर्भसे उत्पन्न हुए अपने आत्माको ही पुत्ररूपमें देखकर पिताको वैसा ही आनन्द होता है, जैसा पुण्यात्मा पुरुषको स्वर्गलोककी प्राप्ति हो जानेपर होता है
duṣyanta uvāca |
antarātmaiva sarvasya putranāmnocyate sadā |
gatī rūpaṃ ca ceṣṭā ca āvartā lakṣaṇāni ca ||
pitṝṇāṃ yāni dṛśyante putrāṇāṃ santi tāni ca |
teṣāṃ śīlācāragunāstat-samparkācchubhāśubhāḥ ||
bhāryāyāṃ janitaṃ putramādarśeṣviva cānanam |
hrādate janitā prekṣya svargaṃ prāpyeva puṇyakṛt ||
Duṣyanta said: “A son is always spoken of as the very inner self of a man. The father’s gait, appearance, manner of acting, even his characteristic turns and marks—these are seen again in the son. And from association with the father, sons acquire their dispositions, conduct, and qualities, whether auspicious or inauspicious. Just as one sees one’s own face in a mirror, so a father, seeing the son born of his wife as his own self made visible, rejoices—like a virtuous man who has attained heaven.”
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the son as the father’s ‘inner self’ made visible: children mirror a parent’s outward traits and, through close association, absorb conduct and qualities—good or bad—highlighting ethical responsibility in parenting and self-discipline.
Duṣyanta argues for the intimate identity between father and son, using resemblance and the mirror analogy to express why a father naturally delights in his son, as if beholding himself and gaining a heaven-like joy—supporting the broader discussion of recognition and legitimacy in the Duṣyanta–Śakuntalā episode.