Mahabharata 1.13.18 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 13, Shloka 18
आस्तीक-उपाख्यान-प्रस्तावः | Introduction to the Āstīka Narrative
3 पितर ऊचु. यायावरा नाम वयमृषय: संशितव्रता: । संतानप्रक्षयाद् ब्रद्मुनज्नधो गच्छाम मेदिनीम्
pitar ūcuḥ | yāyāvarā nāma vayam ṛṣayaḥ saṃśitavratāḥ | saṃtānaprakṣayād brahman adho gacchāma medinīm ||
പിതാക്കൾ പറഞ്ഞു—“ഹേ ബ്രാഹ്മണാ! ഞങ്ങൾ ‘യായാവരർ’ എന്ന പേരിൽ അറിയപ്പെടുന്ന, കഠിനവ്രതങ്ങളിൽ സ്ഥിരമായ ഋഷികളാണ്. സന്താനപരമ്പര ക്ഷയിച്ചതിനാൽ ഞങ്ങൾ താഴേക്ക്—ഭൂമിയിലേക്കു—പതിക്കുന്നു.”
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the dharmic importance of continuity of lineage and the sustaining role of descendants in maintaining ancestral welfare through remembrance and rites; when progeny ceases, the Pitṛs describe a decline in their condition.
The Pitṛs introduce themselves as vow-observant wandering sages (Yāyāvaras) and report that, due to the extinction of their descendants, they are ‘going downward’ toward the earth—signaling distress and a loss of support traditionally provided by progeny.
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