Shloka 40
विपरीतेन ते सुभूर्मात्रा चैवासि वज्चिता । ब्राह्मण: क्षत्रवृत्तिवैं तव पुत्रो भविष्यति,उस समय महातेजस्वी भृूगु अपनी पुत्रवधू सत्यवतीसे बोले--“भद्रे! तुमने जो चरुभक्षण और वृक्षोंका आलिड्रन किया है, उसमें उलट-फेर करके तुम्हारी माताने तुम्हें ठग लिया। सुभ्रू!][ इस भूलके कारण तुम्हारा पुत्र ब्राह्मण होकर भी क्षत्रियोचित आचार- विचारवाला होगा”
viparītena te subhūḥ mātrā caivāsi vañcitā | brāhmaṇaḥ kṣatravṛttivai tava putro bhaviṣyati ||
Akṛtavraṇa said: “O fair Subhū, your mother has indeed deceived you by reversing the intended order in what you did—eating the sacrificial porridge and licking the tree. Because of this mistake, your son, though born a brāhmaṇa, will take on the conduct and disposition proper to a kṣatriya.”
अकृतव्रण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how a seemingly small ritual or ethical misstep—especially when caused by deception—can have far-reaching consequences, shaping future outcomes. It also reflects the epic’s concern with the alignment (or misalignment) between birth-status and lived conduct (vṛtti).
Akṛtavraṇa addresses Subhū, stating that her mother tricked her by reversing what should have been done in a particular act (described in the surrounding prose as eating the caru and licking the tree). As a result, he foretells that Subhū’s son will be a brāhmaṇa by birth but will display kṣatriya-like behavior.