Shloka 12
Parīkṣit’s Inquiry into Vṛtrāsura’s Bhakti and the Beginning of Citraketu’s Trial
रूपौदार्यवयोजन्मविद्यैश्वर्यश्रियादिभि: । सम्पन्नस्य गुणै: सर्वैश्चिन्ता बन्ध्यापतेरभूत् ॥ १२ ॥
rūpaudārya-vayo-janma- vidyaiśvarya-śriyādibhiḥ sampannasya guṇaiḥ sarvaiś cintā bandhyā-pater abhūt
Bien qu’il fût comblé de beauté, de magnanimité, de jeunesse, de noble naissance, de savoir, de richesse et de splendeur, Citraketu demeurait tourmenté, car il n’avait pas de fils.
It appears that the King first married one wife, but she could not bear a child. Then he married a second, a third, a fourth and so on, but none of the wives could bear children. In spite of the material assets of janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrī — birth in an aristocratic family with full opulence, wealth, education and beauty — he was very much aggrieved because in spite of having so many wives, he had no son. Certainly his grief was natural. Gṛhastha life does not mean having a wife and no children. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says, putra-hīnaṁ gṛhaṁ śūnyam: if a family man has no son, his home is no better than a desert. The King was certainly most unhappy that he could not get a son, and this is why he had married so many times. Kṣatriyas especially are allowed to marry more than one wife, and this King did so. Nonetheless, he had no issue.
FAQs
This verse shows that even when one has beauty, wealth, education, power, and good qualities, anxiety can still arise—here due to childlessness—indicating that material assets do not guarantee inner peace.
Because his queen was barren, Citraketu lacked a son; the Bhagavatam uses this to illustrate how attachment to worldly outcomes creates distress even in an otherwise blessed life.
External achievements do not automatically produce fulfillment; reducing attachment to specific outcomes and seeking spiritual grounding (bhakti and higher purpose) helps stabilize the mind when life feels incomplete.