Shloka 953
तयो: प्रियं मे कर्तव्यमिति जानामि चाप्यहम् | मेरे कारण आज मेरे माता-पिता बहुत संतप्त होंगे। उन्हें जीवित देखकर ही मैं जी रहा हूँ। मुझे उन दोनोंका भरण-पोषण करना चाहिये। मैं यह भी जानता हूँ कि माता-पिताका प्रिय करना ही मेरा कर्तव्य है
tayoḥ priyaṃ me kartavyam iti jānāmi cāpy aham | mama kāraṇād adya me mātā-pitarau bahu santaptau bhaviṣyataḥ | tau jīvantau dṛṣṭvaiva ahaṃ jīvāmi | mama tayor bharaṇa-poṣaṇaṃ kartavyam | etad api jānāmi yat mātā-pitroḥ priya-karaṇam eva mama kartavyam |
Dijo Yama: «Sé que es mi deber hacer lo que sea grato a esos dos. Por mi causa, hoy mi madre y mi padre quedarán hondamente afligidos. Vivo sólo al verlos con vida. Por ello debo sostenerlos y cuidarlos. Y sé también esto: obrar de modo que complazca a los padres es, en sí mismo, la obligación justa.»
यम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage teaches that serving and pleasing one’s parents—especially by sustaining and caring for them—is a primary form of dharma. Personal choices should be weighed against the suffering they may cause to parents and against one’s responsibility for their welfare.
Yama articulates an ethical resolve: he recognizes that his parents’ distress is tied to him, that his own life is bound up with their continued well-being, and that he must therefore prioritize their maintenance and act in ways that are dear to them.