Shloka 14
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 158 — Aṅgāraparṇa-saṃvāda and Gaṅgā-tīrtha Saṃghaṭṭa
Encounter at the Gaṅgā ford
कथं तव कुलस्यैकामिमां बालामनागसम् । पितृपैतामहे मार्गे नियोक्तुमहमुत्सहे,आपके कुलकी इस एकमात्र निरपराध बालिकाको मैं बाप-दादोंके द्वारा पालित धर्ममार्गपर लगाये रखनेमें कैसे समर्थ होऊँगी
kathaṁ tava kulasyaikām imāṁ bālām anāgasam | pitṛ-paitāmahe mārge niyoktum aham utsahe ||
The brāhmaṇa said: “How could I bring myself to place this single, innocent young girl of your lineage upon the ancestral path handed down by fathers and grandfathers? How can I presume to direct her into that inherited course of duty?”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds ethical restraint in exercising authority: even when tradition offers an “ancestral path,” one should hesitate to impose it upon a vulnerable, innocent person without clear moral warrant. Dharma here is not mere inheritance but a responsibility requiring conscientious judgment.
A brāhmaṇa speaker addresses someone about a young girl who is the sole child of that lineage. He expresses reluctance and moral hesitation to “direct” or “enjoin” her onto the ancestral course of conduct, emphasizing her innocence and the weight of deciding her life’s path.