Shloka 70
Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha
धर्मद्या हि यथा त्रेता वल्नित्रेता तथैव च | तथैव पुत्रपौत्राणां स्वर्गस्त्रेता किलाक्षय:,'जैसे धर्म तथा उससे संयुक्त अर्थ और काम--ये तीनों स्वर्गके प्राप्ति करानेवाले हैं तथा जैसे आहवनीय, गार्हपत्य और दक्षिणाग्नि--ये तीनों स्वर्गके साधन हैं, उसी प्रकार पुत्र, पौत्र और प्रपौत्र--ये त्रिविध संतानें अक्षय स्वर्गकी प्राप्ति करानेवाली हैं
dharmādyā hi yathā tretā vahni-tretā tathaiva ca | tathaiva putra-pautrāṇāṃ svargas tretā kilākṣayaḥ ||
Dijo el hijo: «Así como la tríada que comienza con el dharma—dharma junto con artha y kāma—es un triple medio que conduce al cielo, y así como los tres fuegos sagrados (Āhavanīya, Gārhapatya y Dakṣiṇāgni) son igualmente tres instrumentos para alcanzar el cielo, del mismo modo la triple línea de descendientes—hijo, nieto y bisnieto—se dice que asegura un cielo imperecedero».
पुत्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches by analogy that human life is structured around meaningful triads: dharma with artha and kāma, the three Vedic fires, and the three generations of descendants. It emphasizes that sustaining dharma and household continuity—symbolized by ritual fires and progeny—supports lasting spiritual merit, described here as ‘imperishable heaven’ (akṣaya svarga).
A son is speaking and uses well-known Vedic and ethical frameworks to persuade or instruct: he compares established triads (purushārthas and ritual fires) to the threefold succession of descendants, asserting that maintaining a lineage (son–grandson–great-grandson) is traditionally praised as a powerful means of securing enduring posthumous welfare.