Shloka 18
आस्तीक-उपाख्यान-प्रस्तावः | Introduction to the Āstīka Narrative
3 पितर ऊचु. यायावरा नाम वयमृषय: संशितव्रता: । संतानप्रक्षयाद् ब्रद्मुनज्नधो गच्छाम मेदिनीम्,पितर बोले--ब्रह्मम! हमलोग कठोर व्रतका पालन करनेवाले यायावर नामक मुनि हैं। अपनी संतान-परम्पराका नाश होनेसे हम नीचे--पृथ्वीपर गिरना चाहते हैं
pitar ūcuḥ | yāyāvarā nāma vayam ṛṣayaḥ saṃśitavratāḥ | saṃtānaprakṣayād brahman adho gacchāma medinīm ||
The Pitṛs said: “O Brahman, we are sages known as Yāyāvaras, steadfast in austere vows. Because our line of descendants has been cut off, we are falling downwards—toward the earth.”
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the dharmic importance of continuity of lineage and the sustaining role of descendants in maintaining ancestral welfare through remembrance and rites; when progeny ceases, the Pitṛs describe a decline in their condition.
The Pitṛs introduce themselves as vow-observant wandering sages (Yāyāvaras) and report that, due to the extinction of their descendants, they are ‘going downward’ toward the earth—signaling distress and a loss of support traditionally provided by progeny.