Shloka 9
Uccaiḥśravas and the Counsel to Churn the Ocean (उच्चैःश्रवसः प्रादुर्भावः — समुद्रमन्थन-परामर्शः)
ऋषीं श्व ब्रह्मचर्येण संतत्या च पितामहान् । अपहृत्य गुरुं भारं पितृणां संशितव्रतः,ब्रह्मन! भाँति-भाँतिके व्रतों और स्वाध्यायोंका अनुष्ठान करके वे सब प्रकारके ऋणोंसे उऋण हो गये। अनेक प्रकारकी दक्षिणावाले यज्ञोंका अनुष्ठान करके उन्होंने देवताओं, ब्रह्मचर्यव्रतके पालनसे ऋषियों और संतानकी उत्पत्तिद्वारा पितरोंको तृप्त किया। कठोर व्रतका पालन करनेवाले जरत्कारु मुनि पितरोंकी चिन्ताका भारी भार उतारकर अपने उन पितामहोंके साथ स्वर्गलोकको चले गये। आस्तीक-जैसे पुत्र तथा परम धर्मकी प्राप्ति करके मुनिवर जरत्कारने दीर्घकालके पश्चात् स्वर्गलोककी यात्रा की। भूगुकुलशिरोमणे! इस प्रकार मैंने आस्तीकके उपाख्यानका यथावत् वर्णन किया है। बताइये, अब और क्या कहा जाय?
ṛṣīn sva-brahmacaryeṇa santatyā ca pitāmahān | apahṛtya guruṁ bhāraṁ pitṝṇāṁ saṁśita-vrataḥ ||
Śaunaka said: “By steadfast celibate discipline he satisfied the seers, and by begetting offspring he satisfied the forefathers. Having thus lifted the heavy burden of anxiety that weighed upon his ancestors, the sage of firm vows became free of the ancestral debt and, in due course, attained the heavenly world together with those forefathers.”
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the dharmic idea of repaying obligations: sages are honored through disciplined brahmacarya and learning, while ancestors are satisfied through continuation of the lineage. By fulfilling these duties, one removes the ‘heavy burden’ of ancestral concern and becomes ethically unencumbered.
Śaunaka summarizes how a strict-vowed sage (in the surrounding episode, Jaratkāru) relieved his ancestors’ anxiety by observing brahmacarya and ensuring progeny, thereby fulfilling ancestral expectations and becoming fit for heavenly attainment.