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
ātmamāṃsopavṛttaṃ ca śarīrārdhamayīṃ tanum | pitṝṇāṃ vaṃśakartarīṃ vane tyaktvā kva yāsyatha ||
जम्बूक ने कहा—यह बालक तुम्हारे ही रक्त-मांस से पला है, मानो तुम्हारे शरीर का आधा भाग हो; और यही पितरों के वंश को बढ़ाने वाला है। इसे वन में छोड़कर तुम कहाँ जाओगे?
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?