Shloka 23
Adhyaya 76 — The Sixth Manvantara: Cakshusha Manu, the Child-Snatcher, and the Problem of Kinship
स गुरोस्तद्वचः श्रुत्वा विहस्यैवमथाब्रवीत् ।
वन्द्या मे कतमा माता जननी पालनī नु किम् ॥
sa guros tadvacaḥ śrutvā vihasyaivam athābravīt | vandyā me katamā mātā jananī pālanī nu kim ||
Al oír las palabras del maestro, sonrió y dijo: «¿A qué madre debo saludar: a mi madre de nacimiento, o a la que me crió y me protegió?»
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "karuna", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
Dharma can become ‘gahana’ (subtle) when relationships conflict. The verse foregrounds competing claims: biological origin (jananī) versus lived care and duty (pālanī).
It belongs to narrative ethics (ācāra) rather than cosmological lakṣaṇas; it illustrates how Purāṇas teach dharma through lived cases.
Two ‘mothers’ can be read as two sources of identity: prakṛti as origin and saṃskāra as formation. The question asks which source should receive primacy in one’s self-understanding and reverence.