Shloka 36
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 3 — Janamejaya’s Rite, Dhaumya’s Parīkṣā, and Uttanka’s Kuṇḍala Quest (सर्पसत्रप्रस्तावना–गुरुपरीक्षा–उत्तङ्कोपाख्यान)
तमुपाध्याय: पीवानमपश्यदुवाच चैनं वत्सोपमन्यो केन वृत्ति कल्पयसि पीवानसि दृढमिति,उपाध्यायने देखा उपमन्यु खूब मोटा-ताजा हो रहा है, तब उन्होंने पूछा--“बेटा उपमन्यु! तुम कैसे जीविका चलाते हो, जिससे इतने अधिक हृष्ट-पुष्ट हो रहे हो?”
tam upādhyāyaḥ pīvānam apaśyad uvāca cainaṃ—vatsopamanyo kena vṛttiṃ kalpayasi? pīvān asi dṛḍham iti.
Seeing that Upamanyu had become notably well-nourished, the teacher addressed him: “My child Upamanyu, by what means do you arrange your livelihood? You have grown stout and strong.” The question probes not merely his physical condition but the ethical propriety of how a student sustains himself while living under a teacher’s discipline.
राम उवाच