Shloka 13
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 85: Āṣṭaka–Yayāti संवादः
Merit-Exhaustion, Rebirth, and the Critique of Pride
ययातिर्वाच यत् त्वं मे हृदयाज्जातो वय: स्व॑ न प्रयच्छसि । तस्मात् प्रजा समुच्छेदं तुर्वलो तव यास्यति,ययातिने कहा--तुर्वसो! तू मेरे हृदयसे उत्पन्न होकर भी मुझे अपनी युवावस्था नहीं देता है, इसलिये तेरी संतति नष्ट हो जायगी
vaiśampāyana uvāca | yayātir uvāca yat tvaṃ me hṛdayāj jāto vayaḥ svaṃ na prayacchasi | tasmāt prajā-samucchedaṃ turvalo tava yāsyati |
Vaiśampāyana said: Yayāti said, “Though you are born from my very heart, you do not grant me your own youth. Therefore, O Turvasu, the line of your descendants shall come to ruin and be cut off.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of filial responsibility and the consequences of refusing a parent’s urgent request in a dharmic framework; the refusal is met with a curse that threatens lineage-continuity, underscoring how actions toward elders can shape one’s future and posterity.
King Yayāti addresses his son Turvasu, reproaching him for not giving his youth to the king (as requested in the broader episode of exchanging youth and old age). In response, Yayāti pronounces a curse that Turvasu’s progeny will be cut off or ruined.