Shloka 11
देवा ऊचु: ऋणिनो मानवा ब्रह्मन् जायन्ते येन तच्छूणु । क्रियाभिन्रह्मचर्येण प्रजया च न संशय:
devā ūcuḥ—ṛṇino mānavā brahman jāyante yena tac chṛṇu | kriyābhir brahmacaryeṇa prajayā ca na saṃśayaḥ |
Les dieux dirent : «Ô brahmane, écoute la raison pour laquelle les hommes naissent débiteurs. Il ne fait aucun doute que tous portent des obligations : par les devoirs du sacrifice (yajña), par la discipline du brahmacarya, et par l’engendrement d’une descendance. Par le sacrifice, l’austérité et l’étude des Veda, ces dettes sont acquittées. Tu es certes un ascète et un accomplisseur de sacrifices, mais tu n’as pas d’enfants.»
मन्दपाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Humans are born with obligations (ṛṇa) that must be repaid through dharmic life: ritual duty (yajña/karma), disciplined Vedic conduct (brahmacarya and study), and continuation of lineage through offspring (prajā). A complete life is framed as responsibly discharging these debts.
Divine beings instruct a brahmin sage about the inborn human obligations and imply that, although he practices austerity and sacrifice, he remains deficient in the debt connected with progeny because he has no children.