Shloka 52
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
आत्ममांसोपवृत्तं च शरीरार्धमयीं तनुम् । पितृणां वंशकर्तरिं वने त्यक्त्वा क्व यास्यथ,यह बालक तुम्हारे अपने ही रक्त-मांसका बना हुआ है, आधे शरीरके समान है और पितरोंके वंशकी वृद्धि करनेवाला है, इसे वनमें छोड़कर तुम कहाँ जाओगे?
ātmamāṃsopavṛttaṃ ca śarīrārdhamayīṃ tanum | pitṝṇāṃ vaṃśakartarīṃ vane tyaktvā kva yāsyatha ||
Jambuka dit : «Cet enfant est nourri de votre propre chair et de votre propre sang—comme la moitié de votre corps—et c’est lui qui fera perdurer la lignée de vos ancêtres. L’ayant abandonné dans la forêt, où pensez-vous pouvoir aller ?»
जम्बुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a strong ethical claim: one’s child is not separate from oneself (like half one’s body) and is the bearer of ancestral continuity; therefore abandoning the child is a grave breach of familial and ancestral duty (dharma).
Jambuka confronts someone who has left a child in the forest, arguing that the child—born of their own flesh and blood and essential for continuing the ancestors’ lineage—cannot be cast away, and challenges them: after such an act, where could they go (morally or socially) without blame?