Shloka 5
शृङ्गिशापः—तक्षककाश्यपसंवादः (Śṛṅgī’s Curse and the Takṣaka–Kāśyapa Dialogue)
जरत्कारुर्वाच ममायं पितरो नित्य यद्यर्थ: परिवर्तते | ऊर्ध्वरेता: शरीर वै प्रापयेयममुत्र वै,जरत्कारुने कहा--पितृगण! मेरे हृदयमें यह बात निरन्तर घूमती रहती थी कि मैं ऊर्ध्विता (अखण्ड ब्रह्मचर्यका पालक) होकर इस शरीरको परलोक ([पुष्यधाम)-में पहुँचाऊँ
Jaratkāruḥ uvāca: mamāyaṃ pitaraḥ nityaṃ yadyarthaḥ parivartate | ūrdhvaretāḥ śarīraṃ vai prāpayeyam amutra vai ||
Jaratkāru said: “O Fathers, this thought has constantly revolved within me: that, remaining an ūrdhvaretas—one who preserves strict continence—I might carry this very body onward to the other world.”
तक्षक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between personal ascetic resolve (strict brahmacarya) and obligations toward one’s ancestors; it frames continence as a powerful vow, yet places it in dialogue with the broader demands of dharma, especially duties connected with lineage and the pitṛs.
Jaratkāru addresses his ancestors, explaining that he has long been preoccupied with the intention to remain an ūrdhvaretas (celibate ascetic) and to pass to the next world maintaining that vow, setting the stage for the conflict between his renunciant ideal and ancestral expectations.