Shloka 7
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 178 — Royal Contestants Assemble; Cosmic Witnesses; The Bow Remains Unstrung
मा तात तात तातेति ब्रूहोनं पितरं पितु: । रक्षसा भक्षितस्तात तव तातो वनान्तरे,“बेटा! ये तुम्हारे पिताके भी पिता हैं। तुम इन्हें 'तात तात!” कहकर न पुकारो। वत्स! तुम्हारे पिताको तो वनके भीतर राक्षस खा गया
mā tāta tāta tā teti brūhī naṁ pitaraṁ pituḥ | rakṣasā bhakṣitas tāta tava tāto vanāntare ||
The Gandharva said: “Do not address him by repeatedly saying ‘father, father’—he is your father’s father. Alas, dear child, your father was devoured by a rākṣasa in the depths of the forest.”
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights propriety in forms of address grounded in family relations (recognizing the grandfather as ‘father’s father’) and the ethical weight of truthful speech even when conveying painful news.
A Gandharva corrects a child’s mode of address toward an elder (the grandfather) and then reveals a tragic event: the child’s father has been killed and eaten by a rākṣasa in the forest.