Shloka 52
आत्ममांसोपवृत्तं च शरीरार्धमयीं तनुम् । पितृणां वंशकर्तरिं वने त्यक्त्वा क्व यास्यथ,यह बालक तुम्हारे अपने ही रक्त-मांसका बना हुआ है, आधे शरीरके समान है और पितरोंके वंशकी वृद्धि करनेवाला है, इसे वनमें छोड़कर तुम कहाँ जाओगे?
ātmamāṃsopavṛttaṃ ca śarīrārdhamayīṃ tanum | pitṝṇāṃ vaṃśakartarīṃ vane tyaktvā kva yāsyatha ||
Jambuka berkata: “Anak ini hidup dari daging dan darahmu sendiri—seakan separuh dari tubuhmu—dan dialah yang akan meneruskan garis keturunan para leluhurmu. Setelah menelantarkannya di rimba, ke manakah kau kira dapat pergi?”
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?