Shloka 30
ब्राह्मणपूजा-राजधर्मः | Royal Duty of Honoring Learned Brahmins
तत इष्टिं चकारर्षिस्तस्य वै पुत्रकामिकीम् । अथास्य तनयो जज्ञे प्रतर्दन इति श्रुतः,तब ऋषिने राजासे पुत्रेष्टि यज्ञ कराया। इससे उनके प्रतर्दन नामसे विख्यात पुत्र हुआ महाराज! इसी तरह मैंने गृत्समदके वंशका भी विस्तारपूर्वक वर्णन किया है। अब और क्या पूछ रहे हो? ।।
tata iṣṭiṁ cakārārṣis tasya vai putrakāmikīm | athāsya tanayo jajñe pratardana iti śrutaḥ ||
Kemudian sang resi melaksanakan upacara iṣṭi yang ditujukan untuk memperoleh putra. Lalu lahirlah putranya, yang termasyhur dengan nama Pratardana. Bhīṣma berkata: “Demikian telah kuuraikan dengan rinci perluasan garis keturunan Gṛtsamada. Apa lagi yang hendak kautanyakan?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores the traditional dharmic linkage between rightful desire (for progeny), sanctioned ritual means (a putra-kāmā iṣṭi/putreṣṭi), and the continuity of lineage. It also models narrative closure: once a genealogy has been properly recounted, further questioning should be purposeful rather than repetitive.
Bhishma recounts that a sage performs a son-bestowing sacrificial rite for a king, resulting in the birth of a son named Pratardana. He then remarks that he has already explained the expansion of Gṛtsamada’s line in detail and asks what else the listener wishes to know.