Shloka 11
Phala of Vrata, Niyama, Svādhyāya, Dama, Satya, Brahmacarya, and Service (व्रत-नियम-स्वाध्याय-दम-सत्य-ब्रह्मचर्य-शुश्रूषा-फलप्रश्नः)
पित्र्येणा श्रुप्रषातेन नाचिकेत: कुरूद्गवह । प्रास्पन्दच्छयने कौश्ये वृष्टया सस्यमिवाप्लुतम्,कुरुश्रेष्ठ! कुशकी चटाईपर पड़ा हुआ नाचिकेत पिताके आँसुओंकी धारासे भीगकर कुछ हिलने-डुलने लगा, मानो वर्षसे सिंचकर अनाजकी सूखी खेती हरी हो गयी हो
pitryeṇa aśruprasātena nāciketaḥ kurūdgvaha | prāspandacchayane kauśye vṛṣṭyā sasyam ivāplutam ||
Bhishma said: O bull among the Kurus, Naciketas, lying upon a woolen bed, began to stir as he was drenched by the stream of his father’s tears—like a parched crop that, once flooded by rain, comes back to life.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical power of sincere remorse and compassion: a father’s heartfelt tears can ‘revive’ and soften what is rigid or unresponsive, just as rain restores a dry crop. It points to the dharmic value of empathy within family relations and the transformative force of genuine feeling.
Naciketas lies on a woolen bed (or mat) and, as his father’s tears fall upon him in a steady stream, he begins to stir. The poet compares this movement to a dry field of grain becoming refreshed and enlivened when rainwater drenches it.