Shloka 16
कृपकृपी-जननम्
The Birth of Kṛpa and Kṛpī; Kṛpa’s Attainment of Astras
स्वर्गे तेनाभितप्तो5हमप्रजस्तु ब्रवीमि व: । पित्र्यादृणादनिर्मुक्तस्तेन तप्ये तपोधना:
svarge tenābhitapto 'ham aprajastu bravīmi vaḥ | pitryād ṛṇād anirmuktas tena tapye tapodhanāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Même au ciel, cette pensée me tourmente ; sans descendance, je vous adresse la parole. Ô ascètes riches en austérités, je ne suis pas encore délivré de la dette envers les ancêtres ; c’est pourquoi je brûle d’inquiétude.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the dharmic idea of pitṛ-ṛṇa—an obligation to one’s ancestors—commonly understood as being discharged through continuing the lineage and performing ancestral rites. Even heavenly status does not remove the inner burden of an unfulfilled duty.
The speaker addresses ascetics, confessing distress over being without offspring and therefore feeling still bound by the ‘debt to the ancestors.’ He appeals to them in a state of moral and emotional agitation.