Shloka 8
Takṣaka’s agency, Parīkṣit’s rites, and Janamejaya’s enthronement (वैयासिक परम्परा-प्रसङ्गः)
अथ कालस्य महत: स मुनि: संशितव्रत: । तपस्यभिरतो धीमान् स दारान् नाभ्यकाड्क्षत,तदनन्तर दीर्घकाल बीत जानेपर भी कठोर व्रतका पालन करनेवाले परम बुद्धिमान् जरत्कारु मुनि केवल तपमें ही लगे रहे। उन्होंने स्त्रीसंग्रहकी इच्छा नहीं की
atha kālasya mahataḥ sa muniḥ saṃśitavrataḥ | tapasyabhirato dhīmān sa dārān nābhyakāṅkṣat ||
Après qu’un temps très long se fut écoulé, ce sage aux vœux inébranlables—avisé et tout entier voué aux austérités—ne désira point prendre épouse. Le récit souligne le choix délibéré de l’ascèse plutôt que de la vie de maison, faisant ressortir la tension morale entre le renoncement personnel et le devoir social de perpétuer la lignée.
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights steadfastness in chosen dharma: Jaratkāru’s strict vows and commitment to tapas lead him to renounce marriage. It also implicitly raises the ethical balance between personal renunciation and obligations to family/lineage that later become significant in his story.
Śaunaka describes that, even after a long time, the sage Jaratkāru remained absorbed in austerities and did not wish to accept a wife, setting up the later narrative pressure for him to marry for a specific dharmic purpose.