Valmiki Ramayana 2.74.26 — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 74, Shloka 26
भरतस्य कैकेयी-गर्हा तथा सुरभि-दृष्टान्तः
Bharata’s Reproach of Kaikeyi and the Surabhi Exemplum
यस्याः पुत्रसहस्रैस्तु कृत्स्नं व्याप्तमिदं जगत्।तां दृष्ट्वा रुदतीं शक्रो न सुतान्मन्यते परम्।।।।
yasyāḥ putrasahasrais tu kṛtsnaṁ vyāptam idaṁ jagat | tāṁ dṛṣṭvā rudatīṁ śakro na sutān manyate param ||
જેણાં હજાર પુત્રોથી આ સમગ્ર જગત વ્યાપ્ત છે, એવી તેણીને રડતી જોઈને શક્રે જાણ્યું—પોતાના સંતાનથી પરમ કંઈ માન્ય નથી.
The wish-fulfilling cow (Kamadhenu) had innumerable sons spread all over the world. When Indra saw that Kamadhenu too was weeping for her sons, he concluded 'there is no one greater than a son'.
FAQs
The verse highlights a universal dharmic insight: parental attachment and responsibility are powerful and morally significant, shaping human (and cosmic) notions of duty and care.
Indra observes Surabhi’s grief despite her countless offspring and draws a conclusion about the incomparable value of a child.
Insight (viveka): the ability to infer a broader moral truth from a concrete instance of suffering.
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