Shloka 24
पितृयज्ञे नारायणतत्त्वम् — The Nārāyaṇa Grounding of Ancestral Offerings
पितृभक्तो दृढतपा: पितु: सुदयित: सुतः । अनन्यमनसा तेन कथं पित्रा विसर्जित:
pitṛbhakto dṛḍhatapāḥ pituḥ sudayitaḥ sutaḥ | ananyamanasā tena kathaṁ pitrā visarjitaḥ ||
Śuka dit : «Il était ferme dans l’ascèse et dévoué à son père, et il était un fils infiniment cher à celui-ci. L’esprit du père ne se fixait que sur lui ; et pourtant, comment le père a-t-il pu lui donner congé de partir ?»
शुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral tension central to dharma: even when love and attachment are strong (a beloved, dutiful son), a higher duty or spiritual necessity may require letting go. It invites reflection on when permission, release, or renunciation is ethically appropriate despite personal affection.
Śuka questions an apparent contradiction in the story: the son is described as intensely devoted, austere, and dearly loved, with an undivided mind—yet the father still allows him to leave. The line functions as a prompt for the next explanation of the circumstances and principles that justified the father’s decision.