Shloka 35
Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: Abhaya, Anugraha, and the Ethics of Honoring the Worthy (दानश्रेष्ठता: अभय-अनुग्रह-विप्रपूजा)
कुशिक उवाच एष एव वरो मेडद्य यस्त्व॑ प्रीतो महामुने । भवत्वेतद् यथा5त्थ त्वं भवेत् पौत्रो ममानघ,कुशिकने कहा--महामुने! आज आप प्रसन्न हैं, यही मेरे लिये बहुत बड़ा वर है। अनघ! आप जैसा कह रहे हैं, वह सत्य हो--मेरा पौत्र ब्राह्मण हो जाय
Kuśika uvāca: eṣa eva varo me dyaḥ, yastvaṁ prīto mahāmune | bhavatu etad yathāttha tvaṁ, bhavet pautro mamānagha ||
Kuśika said: “This alone is the boon I seek today—that you, great sage, are pleased. O sinless one, let it be exactly as you have spoken: may my grandson become a brāhmaṇa.”
कुशिक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic ideal: the highest ‘boon’ is not material gain but the goodwill of a realized sage, and ethical aspiration is expressed as a wish for one’s lineage to attain brāhmaṇa status—symbolizing learning, restraint, and righteous conduct.
Kuśika responds to a great sage, saying that the sage’s satisfaction itself is his greatest reward, and he asks that the sage’s stated outcome come true—specifically, that Kuśika’s grandson should become a brāhmaṇa.