Shloka 86
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 3 — Janamejaya’s Rite, Dhaumya’s Parīkṣā, and Uttanka’s Kuṇḍala Quest (सर्पसत्रप्रस्तावना–गुरुपरीक्षा–उत्तङ्कोपाख्यान)
उत्तंक गुरुकी आज्ञाका पालन करते हुए सेवापरायण हो गुरुके घरमें रहने लगे। वहाँ रहते समय उन्हें उपाध्यायके आश्रयमें रहनेवाली सब स्त्रियोंने मिलकर बुलाया और कहा -- ८५ ॥।। उपाध्यायानी ते ऋतुमती, उपाध्यायश्न प्रोषितो5स्या यथायमृतुर्वन्ध्यो न भवति तथा क्रियतामेषा विषीदतीति,तुम्हारी गुरुपत्नी रजस्वला हुई हैं और उपाध्याय परदेश गये हैं। उनका यह ऋतुकाल जिस प्रकार निष्फल न हो, वैसा करो; इसके लिये गुरुपत्नी बड़ी चिन्तामें पड़ी हैं
upādhyāyānī te ṛtumatī, upādhyāyaś ca proṣito ’syā yathāyam ṛtur vandhyo na bhavati tathā kriyatām; eṣā viṣīdatīti.
The women residing under the preceptor’s protection summoned Uttanka and said: “Your teacher’s wife is in her fertile season, and the teacher is away. See to it that this season does not go to waste; she is distressed about it.” The passage frames a moral tension: a demand made in the name of service to the guru conflicts with the boundaries of propriety and dharma.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
Service to one’s teacher (guru-sevā) is a high duty, but it is not a license to violate dharma. The verse sets up a conflict where an instruction framed as ‘service’ pressures the disciple toward impropriety; the ethical lesson is to discern rightful duty from wrongful demands, especially regarding sexual conduct and respect for the teacher’s household.
While Uttanka lives in his teacher’s house devoted to service, the women of the household call him and report that the teacher’s wife is in her fertile period and the teacher is away. They urge Uttanka to ensure the period is not ‘wasted,’ saying she is distressed—introducing a morally charged request that tests Uttanka’s judgment and restraint.