Shloka 54
इच्छन्ति पितर: पुत्रान् स्वार्थहेतोर्घटोत्कच । इहलोकात् परे लोके तारयिष्यन्ति ये हिता:,घटोत्कच! प्रत्येक पिता अपने इसी स्वार्थके लिये पुत्रोंकी इच्छा करता है कि वे पुत्र मेरे हितैषी होकर मुझे इस लोकसे परलोकमें तार देंगे
icchanti pitaraḥ putrān svārtha-hetor ghaṭotkaca | iha-lokāt pare loke tārayiṣyanti ye hitāḥ ||
Vāyu-deva said: “O Ghaṭotkaca, fathers desire sons for their own sake—believing that devoted, well-wishing sons will carry them from this world into the next. The bond of parent and child is thus also framed as an ethical responsibility: the son’s duty and goodwill become the father’s hoped-for support beyond death.”
श्रीवायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a traditional ethical expectation: parents desire children partly from self-interest, hoping that devoted offspring will perform duties (care, rites, remembrance) that are believed to aid the parents’ welfare in this life and their passage in the afterlife. It frames filial goodwill (hita) as spiritually consequential.
Vāyu-deva addresses Ghaṭotkaca and explains why fathers long for sons: they expect sons, as well-wishers, to ‘carry’ them from this world to the next. The statement functions as counsel about familial obligation and the moral weight of a son’s support.