Shloka 3

Yayāti’s Abdication and Pūru’s Coronation (ययाति-पूोरु-राज्याभिषेकः)

Devanagari script

पुत्रेषु वा नप्तृषु वा न चेदात्मनि पश्यति । फलत्येव ध्रुवं पापं गुरु भुक्तमिवोदरे,“यदि वह (पापसे उपार्जित द्रव्यका) दुष्परिणाम अपने ऊपर नहीं दिखायी देता तो उस अन्‍्यायोपार्जित द्रव्यका उपभोग करनेके कारण पुत्रों अथवा नाती-पोतोंपर अवश्य प्रकट होता है। जैसे खाया हुआ गरिष्ठ अन्न तुरंत नहीं तो कुछ देर बाद अवश्य ही पेटमें उपद्रव करता है, उसी प्रकार किया हुआ पाप भी निश्चय ही अपना फल देता है”

Transliteration

putreṣu vā naptṛṣu vā na ced ātmani paśyati | phalaty eva dhruvaṃ pāpaṃ guru-bhuktam ivodare ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: If the consequence of wrongdoing is not seen upon oneself, it is surely revealed upon one’s sons or grandsons. Sin inevitably bears fruit—like heavy food eaten, which may not trouble the stomach at once, but after some time certainly causes distress.

Word by Word

पुत्रेषुin (one's) sons

वाor

नप्तृषुin grandsons/descendants

वाor

नnot

चेत्if

आत्मनिin oneself

पश्यतिsees/observes

फलतिbears fruit, yields result

एवindeed, certainly

ध्रुवम्surely, certainly (as an adverbial accusative)

पापम्sin, evil deed

गुरुheavy, hard-to-digest

भुक्तम्eaten

इवlike, as

उदरेin the belly/stomach

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Wrongdoing is inescapably consequential: even if its effects are not immediately visible in the doer’s own life, the moral debt ripens and manifests—often in one’s descendants—just as heavy food may cause illness after a delay.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana delivers a reflective, didactic statement within the Adi Parva’s storytelling frame, emphasizing karmic causality and warning that unjust gains or sinful acts do not remain without result.