Shloka 2.74.24
भरतस्य कैकेयी-गर्हा तथा सुरभि-दृष्टान्तः (Bharata’s Reproach of Kaikeyi and the Surabhi Exemplum)
शान्तं पापं न वः किञ्चित्कुतश्चिदमराधिपः।अहं मग्नौ तु शोचामि स्वपुत्रौ विषमे स्थितौ।।2.74.23।।एतौ दृष्ट्वा कृशौ दीनौ सूर्यरश्मिप्रतापितौ।बाध्यमानौ बलीवर्धौ कर्षकेण सुराधिप।।2.74.24।।
śāntaṁ pāpaṁ na vaḥ kiñcit kutaścid amarādhipaḥ | ahaṁ magnau tu śocāmi svaputrau viṣame sthitau ||
ētau dṛṣṭvā kṛśau dīnau sūryaraśmipratāpitau | bādhyamānau balīvardhau karṣakeṇa surādhipa ||
God forbid, O lord of the immortals—no calamity has come upon you from any side. It is I who grieve for my two sons in distress; seeing those bulls, wretched and thin, scorched by the sun, and beaten by a ploughman, I am plunged in sorrow.
'God forbid, O Indra, lord of the Immortals no calamity has befallen you from any quarter. Only I am in trouble. I am weeping for these pair of bulls, my own sons who are in difficulty. When I see them scorched by the rays of the Sun, miserable, emaciated and weeping, beaten by a ploughman, I am immersed in grief'.
The verse reiterates that cruelty toward dependent beings violates compassionate dharma; suffering demands moral response.
A repeated/parallel transmission of Surabhi’s explanation of her grief (as preserved in this Southern Recension input).
Steadfast parental concern—love that cannot ignore the pain of one’s children.