Shloka 16
आपद्-राजनीतिः (Āpad-rājanīti) — Policy Options in Multi-Front Crisis
एकपुत्र: पिता पुत्रे नष्टे वा प्रोषितेडपि वा । प्रवृत्ति यो न जानाति सा55शा कृशतरी मया
ekaputraḥ pitā putre naṣṭe vā proṣite ’pi vā | pravṛttiṃ yo na jānāti sāśā kṛśatarī mayā ||
ພໍ່ຜູ້ມີລູກຊາຍພຽງຄົນດຽວ—ຖ້າລູກນັ້ນຫາຍໄປ ຫຼືແມ່ນແຕ່ໄປຕ່າງແດນ—ເມື່ອພໍ່ບໍ່ຮູ້ຂ່າວຄາວຂອງເຂົາ ຄວາມຫວັງທີ່ຍັງຄ້າງຢູ່ໃນໃຈນັ້ນ ບາງແລະບອບບາງກວ່າຂ້າເສຍອີກ.
कृश उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when circumstances are painful and uncertain, hope persists—but it can become extremely fragile when fueled by attachment and lack of clear knowledge. The verse highlights the psychological cost of not knowing (pravṛtti) and the way longing can ‘thin’ one’s inner steadiness.
The speaker (Kṛśa) uses a vivid comparison: a one-son father who has no news of his missing or absent son still clings to hope, yet that hope is described as even more ‘emaciated’ than the speaker—underscoring the intensity of anxiety and the tenuous nature of expectation in such a situation.