Shloka 4
इमे च मां कर्षयन्ति शिशवो मन्दचेतस: । अबह॒श्चविरणैहीना: पूर्वेषां न: परायणा:,ये सांसारिक ज्ञानसे शून्य चित्तवाले शिशु मुझे अपनी ओर आकर्षित करते हैं। इन्हें पाँखें नहीं निकलीं और अभीतक ये पैरोंसे भी हीन हैं, हमारे पितरोंके ये ही आधार हैं
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | ime ca māṃ karṣayanti śiśavo mandacetasaḥ | abahavaś ca viraṇair hīnāḥ pūrveṣāṃ naḥ parāyaṇāḥ |
Vaiśaṃpāyana dit : «Ces tout-petits, à l’esprit encore simple, tirent sur mon cœur et m’attirent vers eux. Ils sont encore sans défense — sans force et sans assurance sur leurs jambes — et pourtant ils sont le refuge et la continuité de la lignée de nos ancêtres.»
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic obligation: the vulnerable—especially children—create a moral pull on elders, because they embody the continuity and ‘refuge’ of the ancestral line. Compassion and protection are presented as duties tied to lineage and social responsibility.
The speaker (Vaiśaṃpāyana) describes being emotionally drawn by helpless children. Though immature and physically weak, they are portrayed as the sustaining support of the family’s forefathers—implying a reason to act with care, restraint, or protection in the surrounding episode.