Shloka 17
कृपकृपी-जननम्
The Birth of Kṛpa and Kṛpī; Kṛpa’s Attainment of Astras
देहनाशे ध्रुवोी नाश: पितृणामेष निश्चय: । ऋणैश्नतुर्भि: संयुक्ता जायन्ते मानवा भुवि
dehanāśe dhruvo nāśaḥ pitṝṇām eṣa niścayaḥ | ṛṇaiś caturbhiḥ saṃyuktā jāyante mānavā bhuvi ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「この身が滅びれば、わが祖先の没落は必定である—それは定まった真理だ。人はこの世に、四種の負債に縛られて生まれてくるのだから。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human life is framed by dharma as a set of inherited obligations (ṛṇa). One must act so that these debts—especially duties toward ancestors—are properly discharged; neglect is portrayed as leading to ancestral harm and moral failure.
Vaiśampāyana reports a speaker’s anxiety that if he dies without fulfilling his responsibilities (notably connected with lineage and ancestral rites), his forefathers will suffer. The verse introduces the doctrine that humans are born already carrying four debts, setting up the ethical rationale for the actions that follow.