Shloka 19
तेन त्यक्तानसंत्याज्यानृषीनण्डगतान् वने
tena tyaktān asaṃtyājyān ṛṣīn aṇḍagatān vane | yadyapi mandapālena tyaktāḥ, tathāpi te tyājyā na āsan | ataḥ putraśokapīḍitā jaritāne khāṇḍavavane svaputrān na jahau | sā snehavihvalā svavṛttyā tān navajātān śiśūn bharayām āsa ||
Para resi muda itu—yang masih berada di dalam telur di hutan—meski telah ditinggalkan oleh Mandapāla, sesungguhnya mereka bukanlah makhluk yang patut dibuang. Karena itu Jaritā, yang tersiksa oleh duka atas anak-anaknya, tidak meninggalkan putra-putranya di rimba Khāṇḍava. Dikuasai kasih seorang ibu, ia terus menopang dan membesarkan anak-anak yang baru menetas itu dengan upayanya sendiri.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores dharma as responsibility toward dependents: even if someone abandons the vulnerable, they are not thereby rendered ‘abandonable.’ Compassion and parental duty require protection and sustained care, especially for those unable to protect themselves.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates that Mandapāla had left his offspring while they were still in eggs in the forest. Jaritā, distressed for her children, refuses to leave them in the Khāṇḍava forest and continues to nourish and raise the newborn chicks through her own efforts.