Shloka 53
अध्याय ७४: अक्रोध–क्षमा–निवासनीति
Chapter 74: Non-anger, Forbearance, and the Ethics of Residence
प्रतिपद्य यदा सूनुर्धरणीरेणुगुण्ठित: । पितुराश्लिष्यते5ड्रानि किमस्त्यभ्यधिकं तत:,“जब पुत्र धरतीकी धूलमें सना हुआ पास आता और पिताके अंगोंसे लिपट जाता है, उस समय जो सुख मिलता है, उससे बढ़कर और क्या हो सकता है?
pratipadya yadā sūnur dharaṇī-reṇu-guṇṭhitaḥ | pitur āśliṣyate 'ṅgāni kim asty abhyadhikaṃ tataḥ ||
Duṣyanta said: “When a son, his body covered with the dust of the earth, comes up to his father and clings to his limbs in an embrace—what joy could possibly be greater than that?”
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates familial affection—especially the father’s joy in a child’s innocent embrace—as a profound human good, implying that such natural bonds and responsibilities are central to gṛhastha-dharma (householder ethics).
Duṣyanta speaks about the incomparable happiness a father feels when his young son, still dusty from playing on the ground, runs up and hugs him—an image used to emphasize the value of acknowledging and cherishing one’s child.