Shloka 11
शृङ्गिशापः—तक्षककाश्यपसंवादः (Śṛṅgī’s Curse and the Takṣaka–Kāśyapa Dialogue)
सौतिरुवाच एवमुक्त्वा तु स के श्वचार पृथिवीं मुनि: । न च सम लभते भार्या वृद्धोड्यमिति शौनक,उग्रश्रवाजी कहते हैं--शौनकजी! इस प्रकार पितरोंसे कहकर जरत्कारु मुनि पूर्ववत् पृथ्वीपर विचरने लगे। परंतु “यह बूढ़ा है” ऐसा समझकर किसीने कन्या नहीं दी, अतः उन्हें पत्नी उपलब्ध न हो सकी
Sautir uvāca—evam uktvā tu sa keśv acāra pṛthivīṃ muniḥ | na ca saṃ labhate bhāryāṃ vṛddho ’yam iti śaunaka ||
Sauti said: Having spoken thus, the sage wandered over the earth as before. Yet he could not obtain a wife, for people, thinking, “He is old,” would not give him a maiden. The passage underscores the tension between urgent ancestral duty and society’s outward judgments that obstruct the fulfillment of dharma.
तक्षक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when one is committed to fulfilling dharma—here, the duty connected with lineage and ancestors—social judgments based on appearance (such as age) can become obstacles; the verse highlights perseverance amid such impediments and the ethical weight placed on family obligations in the epic.
After speaking to his forefathers, Jaratkāru resumes wandering as an ascetic, but when he seeks a wife, no one offers a maiden because they consider him too old; thus he remains without a spouse at this point in the story.