Shloka 38
अध्याय ७४: अक्रोध–क्षमा–निवासनीति
Chapter 74: Non-anger, Forbearance, and the Ethics of Residence
यदागमवत: पुंसस्तदपत्यं प्रजायते । तत् तारयति संतत्या पूर्वप्रेतानू पितामहान्,'शास्त्रके ज्ञाता पुरुषके इस प्रकार जो संतान उत्पन्न होती है, वह संततिकी परम्पराद्वारा अपने पहलेके मरे हुए पितामहोंका उद्धार कर देती है
yad āgamavataḥ puṁsas tad apatyaṁ prajāyate | tat tārayati saṁtatyā pūrvapretān pitāmahān ||
Duṣyanta said: “From a man who is qualified and established in right conduct, such offspring is born; and that child, through the continuing line of descendants, delivers the forefathers—those earlier grandfathers who have already departed.”
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links ethical/scripturally grounded conduct (āgama) with worthy progeny, and presents children and continuing lineage as a means of fulfilling ancestral obligations—ensuring the welfare of departed forefathers through the continuity of family and rites.
Duṣyanta is articulating a dharmic rationale for the importance of legitimate, well-founded progeny: a child born from a qualified man is not merely personal joy but serves a larger duty—supporting and ‘delivering’ the ancestors through the ongoing family line.