Shloka 12
उद्योगपर्व अध्याय १३३ — संजये मातृउपदेशः
Udyoga Parva Adhyaya 133 — A Mother’s Counsel to Saṃjaya
नात: पापीयसीं कांचिदवस्थां शम्बरो<ब्रवीत् । यत्र नैवाद्य न प्रातर्भोजनं प्रतिदृश्यते
nātaḥ pāpīyasīṃ kāñcid avasthāṃ śambaro 'bravīt | yatra naivādya na prātar-bhojanaṃ pratidṛśyate ||
The son said: “From this point onward, Śambara spoke of no condition more wretched than that—where one sees neither a meal today nor even the morning meal tomorrow.”
पुत्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights hunger and lack of basic sustenance as an especially degrading and grievous condition, implying an ethical imperative toward compassion, support, and righteous provision for those in need.
The son reports or frames Śambara’s statement: Śambara describes the worst kind of plight as one in which there is no food available for today and not even for the next morning, emphasizing the immediacy of distress caused by deprivation.