Shloka 26
(पुदिति नरकस्याख्या दु:ःखं हि नरकं विदु: । पुतस्त्राणात् ततः पुत्त्रमिहेच्छन्ति परत्र च ।। आत्मन: सदृशः पुत्र: पितृदेवर्षिपूजने । यो बहूनां गुणकर: स पुत्रो ज्येष्ठ उच्यते ।। ज्येष्ठांशभाक् स गुणकृदिह लोके परत्र च | श्रेयान् पुत्रो गुणोपेत:ः स पुत्रो नेतरो वृथा ।। वदन्ति धर्म धर्मज्ञा: पितृणां पुत्रकारणात् ।) 'पुत' यह नरकका नाम है। नरकको दुःखरूप ही मानते हैं पुत नामक नरकसे त्राण (रक्षा) करनेके कारण ही लोग इहलोक और परलोकमें पुत्रकी इच्छा करते हैं। अपने अनुरूप पुत्र देवताओं, ऋषियों और पितरोंके पूजनका अधिकारी होता है। जो बहुत-से मनुष्योंके लिये गुणकारक (लाभदायक) हो, उसीको ज्येष्ठ पुत्र कहते हैं। वह गुणकारक पुत्र ही इहलोक और परलोकमें ज्येष्ठके अंशका भागी होता है। जो उत्तम गुणोंसे सम्पन्न है, वही पुत्र श्रेष्ठ माना गया है, दूसरा नहीं। गुणहीन पुत्र व्यर्थ कहा गया है। धर्मज्ञ पुरुष पुत्रके ही कारण पितरोंके धर्मका बखान करते हैं। यदुनाहमवज्ञातस्तथा तुर्वसुनापि च । न चानुना चैव मय्यवज्ञा कृता भृशम्,बाद मेरी अवहेलना की है; तुर्वसु, द्रह्मु तथा अनुने भी मेरा बड़ा तिरस्कार किया है
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
put iti narakasyākhyā duḥkhaṃ hi narakaṃ viduḥ |
putastrāṇāt tataḥ putram ihecchanti paratra ca ||
ātmanaḥ sadṛśaḥ putraḥ pitṛdevarṣipūjane |
yo bahūnāṃ guṇakaraḥ sa putro jyeṣṭha ucyate ||
jyeṣṭhāṃśabhāk sa guṇakṛd iha loke paratra ca |
śreyān putro guṇopetaḥ sa putro netaro vṛthā ||
vadanti dharma dharmajñāḥ pitṝṇāṃ putrakāraṇāt ||
Vaiśampāyana said: ‘“Put” is the name of a hell; hell is indeed understood as the very form of suffering. Because a son delivers (his forefathers) from the hell called Put, people desire a son both in this world and in the next. A son who is like his father is fit to perform worship of the Pitṛs, the gods, and the Ṛṣis. He who becomes a source of benefit and excellence for many is called the eldest (jyeṣṭha) son. That beneficent son partakes of the elder’s share here in this world and also in the world beyond. The son endowed with noble qualities is the truly superior son; the other is a son only in name, in vain. Thus do the knowers of dharma speak, praising the dharma of the ancestors on account of the son.’
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A son is valued not merely by birth but by dharmic capacity: he should be fit for honoring gods, sages, and ancestors, and should be ‘guṇakara’—beneficial and virtuous. Such a qualified son is considered truly ‘jyeṣṭha’ and worthy of precedence; a son without virtues is described as futile.
Vaiśampāyana explains a traditional rationale for desiring a son: the son is said to ‘rescue’ from the hell named Put through ancestral rites and dharmic conduct. He then reframes seniority and worth—true elder status belongs to the son who benefits many and embodies good qualities, both for this world and the next.