Shloka 24

Devanagari script

जरितोवाच कि नु ज्येष्ठेन ते कार्य किमनन्तरजेन ते । कि वा मध्यमजातेन कि कनिष्ठेन वा पुन:,जरिता बोली--तुम्हें ज्येष्ठ पुत्रसे क्या काम है, उसके बादवालेसे भी क्‍या लेना है, मझले अथवा छोटे पुत्रसे भी तुम्हें क्या प्रयोजन है?

Transliteration

Jaritovāca: ki nu jyeṣṭhena te kāryaṃ kim anantarajena te | ki vā madhyamajātēna ki kaniṣṭhena vā punaḥ ||

Translation

Jaritā dit : «Qu’as-tu à faire de mon fils aîné ? Que veux-tu de celui qui est né après lui ? Et que t’importe celui du milieu — ou encore le plus jeune ?»

Word by Word

जरिताJarita (name of the speaker)

उवाचsaid/spoke

किम्what

नुindeed/then (interrogative particle)

ज्येष्ठेनwith/by the eldest (son)

तेfor you/to you

कार्यम्need/business/purpose

किम्what

अनन्तरजेनwith/by the next-born (son)

तेfor you/to you

किम्what

वाor

मध्यमजातेनwith/by the middle-born (son)

किम्what

कनिष्ठेनwith/by the youngest (son)

वाor

पुनःagain/further

Speaker

मन्दपाल उवाच

Characters & Entities

Jaritā

jyeṣṭha-putra (eldest son)

anantaraja-putra (next-born son)

madhyamajāta-putra (middle-born son)

kaniṣṭha-putra (youngest son)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights vigilant discernment (viveka) and parental responsibility: before yielding access to one’s dependents, one should question motives and ensure protection aligns with dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Jaritā confronts the other party by pointedly asking which of her sons he seeks—eldest, next-born, middle, or youngest—thereby challenging his intentions and signaling concern for her children’s safety.