Shloka 21
कृपकृपी-जननम्
The Birth of Kṛpa and Kṛpī; Kṛpa’s Attainment of Astras
त्रयाणामितरेषां तु नाश आत्मनि नश्यति । पित्र्यादृणादनिर्मुक्त इदानीमस्मि तापसा:,पुत्रोत्पादन और श्राद्धकर्मोद्वारा पितरोंको तथा दयापूर्ण बर्तावद्वारा वह मनुष्योंको संतुष्ट करता है। मैं धर्मकी दृष्टिसे ऋषि, देव तथा मनुष्य--इन तीनों ऋणोंसे मुक्त हो चुका हूँ। अन्य अर्थात् पितरोंक ऋणका नाश तो इस शरीरके नाश होनेपर भी शायद ही हो सके। तपस्वी मुनियो! मैं अबतक पितृ-ऋणसे मुक्त न हो सका
trayāṇām itareṣāṁ tu nāśa ātmāni naśyati | pitryād ṛṇād anirmukta idānīm asmi tāpasāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “As for the remaining debt, its extinction does not come about merely by the destruction of one’s own body. O ascetics, even now I am not released from the ancestral debt.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the dharmic idea of ṛṇa (obligation): certain duties—especially toward one’s ancestors—are not automatically annulled by personal renunciation or even by death; they require appropriate fulfillment (classically through progeny and ancestral rites).
Vaiśampāyana addresses ascetics and states that, although some obligations may be considered discharged, he still regards himself as bound by the ancestral debt, emphasizing the continuing moral weight of duties to forebears.