Shloka 39
Adhyaya 26 — Madālasa Names Alarka and Reorients Him Toward Kshatriya Duty
बालो मनो नन्दय बान्धवानां गुरोस्तथाज्ञाकरनैः कुमारः ।
स्त्रीणां युवा सत्कुलभूषणानां वृद्धो वने वत्स ! वनॆचराणाम् ॥
bālo mano nandaya bāndhavānāṃ guros tathājñākaraṇaiḥ kumāraḥ | strīṇāṃ yuvā satkulabhūṣaṇānāṃ vṛddho vane vatsa! vanecarāṇām ||
De niño, deleita el corazón de tus parientes; de joven, como estudiante, sigue los mandatos del maestro. En la plenitud de la juventud, sé un digno ornamento de las familias nobles (y un compañero apropiado para las mujeres); y en la vejez, hijo mío, habita en el bosque entre los moradores del bosque.
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FAQs
Dharma is time-sensitive: each stage of life has a distinct excellence—affectionate family integration in childhood, discipline under the guru in youth, social responsibility in adulthood, and renunciation/withdrawal in old age.
Didactic dharma content within narrative; indirectly supports vaṃśānucarita by prescribing how a ruler (or noble) matures ethically across stages.
The ‘forest’ is also an inner state: as senses age, one should ‘move inward.’ The verse encodes a gradual turning from external validation (kin, teacher, society) toward inner solitude and liberation.