Ramayana — Bala Kanda, Sarga 61, Shloka 17
शुनःशेफविक्रयः
The Sale of Śunaḥśepa for the Sacrifice
अविक्रेयं सुतं ज्येष्ठं भगवानाह भार्गव:।।।।ममापि दयितं विद्धि कनिष्ठं शुनकं नृप।तस्मात्कनीयसं पुत्रं न दास्ये तव पार्थिव ।।।।
avikreyaṃ sutaṃ jyeṣṭhaṃ bhagavān āha bhārgavaḥ |
mamāpi dayitaṃ viddhi kaniṣṭhaṃ śunakaṃ nṛpa |
tasmāt kanīyasaṃ putraṃ na dāsye tava pārthiva ||
ભગવાન ભાર્ગવ બોલ્યા: “જ્યેષ્ઠ પુત્ર વેચાણયોગ્ય નથી. અને હે નૃપ, જાણ કે કનિષ્ઠ શುನક મને પણ અત્યંત પ્રિય છે; તેથી, હે પાર્થિવ, હું તને મારો કનિષ્ઠ પુત્ર આપશ નથી.”
FAQs
The verse frames a boundary of moral propriety: certain familial obligations are treated as inviolable—here, the father asserts that the eldest should not be commodified, and he refuses to surrender the youngest whom he cherishes.
King Ambarīṣa seeks a son (as part of the Śunaḥśepa narrative). The father Ṛcīka responds by refusing to part with either the eldest (non-sellable) or the youngest (beloved).
Protectiveness and principled refusal—upholding a claimed rule of propriety even under royal request.