Shloka 5
Raibhya-putrayoḥ satra-vṛttāntaḥ — The Satra Episode of Raibhya’s Sons
Parāvasu and Arvāvasu
जघन्यरात्रे निद्रान्ध: सावशेषे तमस्यपि । चरन्तं गहने5रण्ये मेने स पितरं मृगम्,रातका पिछला पहर बीत रहा था और अभी अन्धकार शेष था। परावसु नींदसे अन्धे हो रहे थे; अतः उन्होंने गहन वनमें विचरते हुए अपने पिताको हिंसक पशु ही समझा
jaghanyarātre nidrāndhaḥ sāvaśeṣe tamasy api | carantaṃ gahane 'raṇye mene sa pitaraṃ mṛgam ||
In the last watch of the night, when darkness still lingered, Parāvasu—blinded by sleep—wandered through the dense forest and mistook his own father, who was moving about there, for a wild beast. The verse underscores how negligence and clouded perception can lead to grievous moral error, especially when one fails to recognize and protect those to whom one owes the highest duty.
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
When the mind is clouded—by sleep, haste, or negligence—one’s discernment fails, and that failure can become a grave ethical transgression. The verse warns that dharma depends not only on intention but also on alertness and correct recognition, especially regarding one’s duties toward parents and elders.
During the final watch of the night, with darkness still present, Parāvasu moves through a dense forest while drowsy. In that impaired state he mistakes his father, who is walking there, for a wild beast—setting up the tragic mistake that follows in the story.