Shloka 17
कृपकृपी-जननम्
The Birth of Kṛpa and Kṛpī; Kṛpa’s Attainment of Astras
देहनाशे ध्रुवोी नाश: पितृणामेष निश्चय: । ऋणैश्नतुर्भि: संयुक्ता जायन्ते मानवा भुवि,निःसंतान-अवस्थामें मेरे इस शरीरका नाश होने-पर मेरे पितरोंका पतन अवश्य हो जायगा। मनुष्य इस पृथ्वीपर चार प्रकारके ऋणोंसे युक्त होकर जन्म लेते हैं
dehanāśe dhruvo nāśaḥ pitṝṇām eṣa niścayaḥ | ṛṇaiś caturbhiḥ saṃyuktā jāyante mānavā bhuvi ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “With the destruction of this body, the downfall of my forefathers is certain—this is the settled truth. For human beings are born into this world already bound to four kinds of debts.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human life is framed by dharma as a set of inherited obligations (ṛṇa). One must act so that these debts—especially duties toward ancestors—are properly discharged; neglect is portrayed as leading to ancestral harm and moral failure.
Vaiśampāyana reports a speaker’s anxiety that if he dies without fulfilling his responsibilities (notably connected with lineage and ancestral rites), his forefathers will suffer. The verse introduces the doctrine that humans are born already carrying four debts, setting up the ethical rationale for the actions that follow.