Shloka 18
पितृदेवर्षिमनुजैददेयं तेभ्यश्व धर्मत: । एतानि तु यथाकालं यो न बुध्यति मानव:,(उन ऋणोंके नाम ये हैं--) पितृ-ऋण, देव-ऋण, ऋषि-ऋण और मनुष्य-ऋण। उन सबका ऋण धर्मतः हमें चुकाना चाहिये। जो मनुष्य यथासमय इन ऋणोंका ध्यान नहीं रखता, उसके लिये पुण्यलोक सुलभ नहीं होते। यह मर्यादा धर्मज्ञ पुरुषोंने स्थापित की है। यज्ञोंद्वारा मनुष्य देवताओंको तृप्त करता है, स्वाध्याय और तपस्याद्वारा मुनियोंको संतोष दिलाता है
Vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca: pitṛ-devarṣi-manujaiḥ dade yaṃ tebhyaś ca dharmataḥ | etāni tu yathākālaṃ yo na budhyati mānavaḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: ‘One must, in accordance with dharma, render what is due to the Fathers, the gods, the seers, and to human beings. But the person who does not recognize these obligations at the proper time does not easily attain the worlds of merit.’
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human life is framed by dharma as a set of timely obligations—debts to ancestors, gods, seers, and fellow humans—which must be repaid through appropriate acts; neglecting them obstructs the attainment of merit and higher worlds.
Vaiśaṃpāyana, in his ongoing narration, states a general dharmic principle: people must recognize and discharge the traditional four obligations (ṛṇas) in due time; failure to do so undermines one’s spiritual and moral progress.