Shloka 19
Adhyāya 16 — Daiva, Kṣatriya-dharma, and Public Reassurance to Dhṛtarāṣṭra
नाहं राज्यफलं पुत्रा: कामये पुत्रनिर्जितम् । पतिलोकानहं पुण्यान् कामये तपसा विभो,पुत्रो! मैं पुत्रके जीते हुए राज्यका फल भोगना नहीं चाहती। प्रभो! मैं तपस्याद्वारा पुण्यमय पतिलोकमें जानेकी कामना रखती हूँ
nāhaṁ rājyaphalaṁ putrāḥ kāmaye putranirjitam | patilokān ahaṁ puṇyān kāmaye tapasā vibho putro |
I do not desire, my sons, to enjoy the fruits of a kingdom won by my son. O mighty one, I seek instead—through austerity—the merit that leads to the blessed world of my husband.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worldly rewards—even royal prosperity gained through one’s children—are treated as secondary to dharma pursued through self-restraint. The verse upholds renunciation and tapas as a means to spiritual merit and a higher goal (the blessed realm associated with one’s husband), emphasizing detachment from political power and its pleasures.
In the Ashramavāsika context, an elder woman addresses her sons, refusing to enjoy the benefits of a kingdom obtained by her son. She declares her intention to undertake austerities, aiming for the meritorious ‘world of the husband’ rather than remaining attached to courtly life and its comforts.