Shloka 62
Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha
जीर्णेन वयसा पुत्र न मां क्षुद् बाधतेडपि च । दीर्घकालं तपस्तप्तं न मे मरणतो भयम्
jīrṇena vayasā putra na māṃ kṣud bādhate ’pi ca | dīrghakālaṃ tapas taptaṃ na me maraṇato bhayam ||
पुत्र ने कहा—बेटा! जीर्ण अवस्था के कारण मुझे भूख अधिक नहीं सताती। फिर मैंने दीर्घकाल तक तप किया है; इसलिए अब मुझे मृत्यु का भय नहीं है।
पुत्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Long practice of tapas and inner discipline can lessen attachment to the body and reduce fear of death; with maturity and detachment, even basic hardships like hunger lose their power to disturb the mind.
In a dialogue, the speaker (introduced as ‘the son’) addresses someone affectionately as ‘putra’ (“my child”) and explains his condition: advanced age makes hunger less oppressive, and his long austerities have made him unafraid of dying.