Shloka 36
कामीकवन-समागमः
Kāmyaka Forest Meeting: Kṛṣṇa’s Visit; Mārkaṇḍeya and Nārada Arrive
तस्या: कथं त्वनाथाया मद्विनाशाद् भुजड्गरम सफलास्ते भविष्यन्ति मयि सर्वे मनोरथा:,'भुजंगम! मेरे मरनेसे मेरी अनाथ माताके वे सभी मनोरथ जो मुझपर अवलम्बित थे, कैसे सफल हो सकेंगे?
tasyāḥ kathaṁ tv anāthāyā mad-vināśād bhujaṅgama raphalās te bhaviṣyanti mayi sarve manorathāḥ
How, O serpent, will all the hopes of my mother—now left without protection—be fulfilled if I perish? For all her cherished aims rest upon me; if I am destroyed, what support remains for her desires and welfare?
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharma as responsibility toward dependents: one’s life and choices are ethically bound to the welfare of those who rely on us—especially a parent. Personal survival is framed not as self-interest but as a duty to protect and fulfill rightful hopes.
A speaker addresses a serpent, pleading that his death would leave his mother unprotected. He argues that since her hopes depend on him, his destruction would thwart her welfare, making his survival a moral necessity.