Shloka 71
Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha
पितृन् ऋणात् तारयति पुत्र इत्यनुशुश्रुम । पुत्रपौत्रैश्न नियतं साधुलोकानुपाश्षुते,“हमने सुना है कि पुत्र पिताको पितृ-ऋणसे छुटकारा दिला देता है। पुत्रों और पौत्रोंके द्वारा मनुष्य निश्चय ही श्रेष्ठ लोकोंमें जाते हैं!
pitṝn ṛṇāt tārayati putra ity anuśuśruma | putra-pautraiś ca niyataṁ sādhūn lokān upāśnute ||
The son said: “We have heard in the tradition that a son delivers his forefathers from the debt owed to the ancestors. Indeed, through sons and grandsons a person surely attains the worlds of the righteous.”
पुत्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse affirms the dharmic idea of pitṛ-ṛṇa: one has an obligation to one’s ancestors, and producing and raising worthy progeny is presented as a means by which the ancestral line is sustained and the forefathers are ‘delivered’—i.e., supported in their posthumous welfare—leading the householder toward meritorious realms.
A son, speaking within the Ashvamedhika Parva context, cites received tradition (“we have heard”) to argue for the religious and ethical significance of having sons and grandsons, emphasizing their role in fulfilling ancestral obligations and securing attainment of righteous worlds.