Shloka 6
खाण्डवदाहोत्तर-वरप्रदानम्
Boons after the Khāṇḍava Burning
समालिज्जडय सुतानन्ये पितृन् भ्रातृनथापरे । त्यक्त न शेकुः स्नेहेन तत्रेव निधनं गता:,कोई अपने पुत्रोंकोी छातीसे चिपकाये हुए थे, कुछ प्राणी अपने पिता और भाइयोंसे सटे हुए थे। वे स्नेहवश एक-दूसरेको छोड़ न सके और वहीं कालके गालमें समा गये
samāliṅgya sutān anye pitṝn bhrātṝn athāpare | tyaktuṁ na śekuḥ snehena tatraiva nidhanaṁ gatāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Some, clasping their sons tightly to their chests, and others clinging to their fathers and brothers, could not bring themselves to part out of overpowering affection; and so, right there, they met their end. The passage underscores how attachment, even to the dearest bonds, can bind beings to ruin when danger demands discernment and timely separation.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the peril of unchecked sneha (attachment): love and kinship are natural, but when they override discernment in a moment of crisis, they can become a cause of destruction. Ethically, it points to the need for steadiness and wise action even amid intense familial emotion.
In a scene of calamity, people cling to their closest relatives—sons, fathers, brothers—and, unable to separate because of affection, they perish on the spot. The narration emphasizes the tragic intensity of the moment and the fatal consequence of not letting go.