Shloka 8
Takṣaka’s agency, Parīkṣit’s rites, and Janamejaya’s enthronement (वैयासिक परम्परा-प्रसङ्गः)
अथ कालस्य महत: स मुनि: संशितव्रत: । तपस्यभिरतो धीमान् स दारान् नाभ्यकाड्क्षत,तदनन्तर दीर्घकाल बीत जानेपर भी कठोर व्रतका पालन करनेवाले परम बुद्धिमान् जरत्कारु मुनि केवल तपमें ही लगे रहे। उन्होंने स्त्रीसंग्रहकी इच्छा नहीं की
atha kālasya mahataḥ sa muniḥ saṃśitavrataḥ | tapasyabhirato dhīmān sa dārān nābhyakāṅkṣat ||
After a very long time had passed, that sage of firm vows—wise and wholly devoted to austerity—did not desire to take a wife. The narrative underscores his deliberate choice of ascetic discipline over household life, highlighting the ethical tension between personal renunciation and the social duty of continuing one’s lineage.
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights steadfastness in chosen dharma: Jaratkāru’s strict vows and commitment to tapas lead him to renounce marriage. It also implicitly raises the ethical balance between personal renunciation and obligations to family/lineage that later become significant in his story.
Śaunaka describes that, even after a long time, the sage Jaratkāru remained absorbed in austerities and did not wish to accept a wife, setting up the later narrative pressure for him to marry for a specific dharmic purpose.