Shloka 19
उद्योगपर्व अध्याय १३३ — संजये मातृउपदेशः
Udyoga Parva Adhyaya 133 — A Mother’s Counsel to Saṃjaya
नेति चेद् ब्राह्मण ब्रूयां दीयेंत हृदयं मम । नहाहं न च मे भर्ता नेति ब्राह्मणमुक्तवान्,यदि किसी ब्राह्मणके माँगनेपर मैं उसकी अभीष्ट वस्तुके लिये “नाहीं” कह दूँगी तो उसी समय मेरा हृदय विदीर्ण हो जायगा। आजतक मैंने या मेरे पतिदेवने किसी ब्राह्मणसे नाहीं नहीं की है
neti ced brāhmaṇa brūyāṃ dīyeta hṛdayaṃ mama | na hy ahaṃ na ca me bhartā neti brāhmaṇam uktavān |
“Si, cuando un brahmán pide, yo dijera ‘No’, mi corazón se quebraría en ese mismo instante. Pues ni yo ni mi esposo hemos dicho jamás ‘No’ a un brahmán.”
पुत्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse upholds the dharma of dāna: a householder should not turn away a worthy supplicant—especially a brahmin—because refusal is portrayed as a moral wound to one’s conscience and a breach of long-held ethical discipline.
A son reports (or quotes) a woman’s vow-like statement: she declares that saying ‘no’ to a brahmin’s request would shatter her heart, and she emphasizes that neither she nor her husband has ever refused a brahmin, highlighting their established practice of generosity.