Shloka 4
इमे च मां कर्षयन्ति शिशवो मन्दचेतस: । अबह॒श्चविरणैहीना: पूर्वेषां न: परायणा:,ये सांसारिक ज्ञानसे शून्य चित्तवाले शिशु मुझे अपनी ओर आकर्षित करते हैं। इन्हें पाँखें नहीं निकलीं और अभीतक ये पैरोंसे भी हीन हैं, हमारे पितरोंके ये ही आधार हैं
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | ime ca māṃ karṣayanti śiśavo mandacetasaḥ | abahavaś ca viraṇair hīnāḥ pūrveṣāṃ naḥ parāyaṇāḥ |
Vaiśaṃpāyana dijo: «Estos pequeños, de entendimiento sencillo, tiran de mi corazón y me atraen hacia ellos. Aún están desvalidos—sin fuerza y sin firmeza en los pies—y, sin embargo, son el amparo y la continuidad de la estirpe de nuestros antepasados.»
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic obligation: the vulnerable—especially children—create a moral pull on elders, because they embody the continuity and ‘refuge’ of the ancestral line. Compassion and protection are presented as duties tied to lineage and social responsibility.
The speaker (Vaiśaṃpāyana) describes being emotionally drawn by helpless children. Though immature and physically weak, they are portrayed as the sustaining support of the family’s forefathers—implying a reason to act with care, restraint, or protection in the surrounding episode.