Shloka 15
अगस्त्यस्य वित्तयाचनं तथा इल्वलोपभिक्षणनिर्णयः
Agastya’s request for wealth and the decision to seek resources from Ilvala
सो<पृच्छल्लम्बमानांस्तान् भवन्त इव कम्पिता: । (किमर्थ वेह लम्बध्वं गर्ते यूयमधोमुखा: ।) संतानहेतोरिति ते प्रत्यूचुब्रह्मयतादिन:,तब उन लटकते हुए पितरोंसे अगस्त्यजीने पूछा--“आपलोग यहाँ किसलिये नीचे मुँह किये काँपते हुए-से लटक रहे हैं? यह सुनकर उन वेदवादी पितरोंने उत्तर दिया --'संतानपरम्पराके लोपकी सम्भावनाके कारण हमारी यह दुर्दशा हो रही है”
so 'pṛcchallambamānāṁs tān bhavanta iva kampitāḥ | kimartha veha lambadhvaṁ garte yūyam adhomukhāḥ || santānahetoḥ iti te pratyūcur brahmayatādinaḥ |
Seeing those ancestors hanging upside down, as if trembling, the sage asked them: “Why are you hanging here in this pit, face downward?” Hearing this, the forefathers—devoted to Vedic observance and sacred discipline—replied: “It is because of the loss of our lineage; the continuity of descendants has been cut off.” The passage underscores the ethical weight placed on sustaining the family line through righteous progeny, since the welfare of ancestors is believed to depend upon it.
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights pitṛdharma: sustaining the continuity of descendants is treated as a serious ethical duty, since ancestral well-being is linked to the continuation of the family line and the performance of rites by progeny.
A sage (contextually Agastya) sees forefathers suspended upside down in a pit and asks why they are in such a state. They answer that their suffering is due to the break in their lineage—the absence or loss of descendants.