Shloka 29
पितृयज्ञे नारायणतत्त्वम् — The Nārāyaṇa Grounding of Ancestral Offerings
ततः प्रतिवचो देयं सर्वरेव समाहितै: । एतन्मे स्नेहत: सर्वे वचन कर्तुमर्हथ,तब परम धर्मज्ञ शुकदेवजीने उन सबसे कहा--'देवियो! यदि मेरे पिताजी मेरा नाम लेकर पुकारते हुए इधर आ निकलें तो आप सब लोग सावधान होकर मेरी ओरसे उन्हें उत्तर देना। आप लोगोंका मुझपर बड़ा स्नेह है; इसलिये आप सब मेरी इतनी-सी बात मान लेना'
tataḥ prativaco deyaṃ sarvair eva samāhitaiḥ | etan me snehataḥ sarve vacanaṃ kartum arhatha |
Then Śuka said: “All of you, remaining fully attentive, should give the reply on my behalf. Out of affection for me, you all ought to do this one thing I ask: if my father comes here calling me by name, answer him carefully from my side.”
शुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Speech should be guided by attentiveness and responsibility: even a simple reply, when given on another’s behalf, must be delivered with composure (samāhita) and loyalty (sneha), reflecting ethical care in communication.
Śuka instructs those present (addressed as ‘all of you’) to remain alert and, if his father arrives calling him by name, to respond carefully on Śuka’s behalf—showing a moment of deliberate arrangement in a sensitive father–son context.