Shloka 22

Devanagari script

अलाबुमध्यान्निष्कृष्य बीजं यत्नेन गोप्यताम्‌ । सोपस्वेदेषु पात्रेषु घृतपूर्णेषु भागश:,इसी समय आकाशसे एक गम्भीर वाणी सुनायी दी--'“राजन्‌! ऐसा दुःसाहस न करो। अपने इन पुत्रोंका त्याग करना तुम्हारे लिये उचित नहीं है। इस तूँबीमें से एक-एक बीजको निकालकर घीसे भरे हुए गरम घड़ोंमें अलग-अलग रक्‍्खो और यत्नपूर्वक इन सबकी रक्षा करो

Transliteration

alābu-madhyān niṣkṛṣya bījaṁ yatnena gopyatām | sopasvedēṣu pātrēṣu ghṛta-pūrṇēṣu bhāgaśaḥ ||

Translation

“Keluarkan benih dari bagian tengah gumpalan itu dan jagalah dengan saksama. Letakkan, bagian demi bagian, ke dalam bejana-bejana terpisah yang berisi ghee dan dihangatkan perlahan, lalu lindungi masing-masing dengan tekun.”

Word by Word

अलाबुfrom the gourd

मध्यात्from the middle

निष्कृष्यhaving extracted/pulled out

बीजम्the seed

यत्नेनwith effort/carefully

गोप्यताम्let it be protected / it should be guarded

सोपस्वेदेषुin (vessels) with warming/steaming (i.e., heated)

पात्रेषुin vessels/pots

घृतपूर्णेषुin (pots) filled with ghee

भागशःseparately / in portions

Speaker

लोगश उवाच

Characters & Entities

ākāśavāṇī (a voice from the sky)

alābu (gourd)

bīja (seed)

ghṛta (ghee)

pātra (vessels/pots)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Do not act in reckless despair; protect what has been entrusted to you. The verse emphasizes careful, methodical safeguarding of life (symbolized by seeds) and frames such protection as dharmic responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

A grave, disembodied voice gives practical instructions: extract the seeds from a gourd and preserve them separately in warmed, ghee-filled vessels. The counsel functions as a warning against abandoning one’s sons and as guidance for preserving them.