Shloka 20
उद्योगपर्व अध्याय १३३ — संजये मातृउपदेशः
Udyoga Parva Adhyaya 133 — A Mother’s Counsel to Saṃjaya
वयमाश्रयणीया: सम नाश्रितार: परस्य च | सान्यमासाद्य जीवन्ती परित्यक्ष्यामि जीवितम्
vayam āśrayaṇīyāḥ sama nāśritāraḥ parasya ca | sānyam āsādya jīvantī parityakṣyāmi jīvitam ||
हम सदा लोगों के आश्रयदाता रहे हैं, दूसरों के आश्रित कभी नहीं रहे; परंतु अब यदि दूसरे का आश्रय लेकर जीवन धारण करना पड़े, तो मैं ऐसे जीवन का परित्याग ही कर दूँगी।
पुत्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts an ethic of dignity and responsibility: one should strive to be a support for others rather than live by dependence; if circumstances force humiliating dependence, the speaker prefers renunciation of life to compromising honor.
In a tense pre-war context of the Udyoga Parva, the speaker (identified only as “the child/son” in the colophon) voices a firm resolve: their lineage or household has been a refuge to others, and they refuse to continue living if reduced to seeking another’s shelter.