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 ||
En la última vigilia de la noche, cuando aún persistía la oscuridad, Parāvasu—cegado por el sueño—vagó por la espesura y tomó a su propio padre, que se movía allí, por una fiera. El verso muestra cómo la negligencia y la percepción nublada pueden conducir a un gravísimo yerro moral, sobre todo cuando uno no reconoce ni protege a aquel a quien debe el más alto deber.
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.