Ramayana — Bala Kanda, Sarga 61, Shloka 18
शुनःशेफविक्रयः
The Sale of Śunaḥśepa for the Sacrifice
अविक्रेयं सुतं ज्येष्ठं भगवानाह भार्गव:।।1.61.17।।ममापि दयितं विद्धि कनिष्ठं शुनकं नृप।तस्मात्कनीयसं पुत्रं न दास्ये तव पार्थिव ।।1.61.18।।
avikreyaṃ sutaṃ jyeṣṭhaṃ bhagavān āha bhārgavaḥ |
mamāpi dayitaṃ viddhi kaniṣṭhaṃ śunakaṃ nṛpa |
tasmāt kanīyasaṃ putraṃ na dāsye tava pārthiva ||
ഭഗവാൻ ഭാർഗവൻ പറഞ്ഞു: “ജ്യേഷ്ഠപുത്രൻ വിൽപ്പനയ്ക്കുള്ളവൻ അല്ല. ഹേ നൃപ, കനിഷ്ഠനായ ശുനകൻ എനിക്കും പ്രിയനാണെന്ന് അറിയുക; അതിനാൽ, ഹേ പാർഥിവ, എന്റെ കനിഷ്ഠപുത്രനെ ഞാൻ നിനക്കു തരുകയില്ല.”
O Rama! the sage and his wife having spoken thus, their middle son Sunassepha said on his own:
FAQs
Dharma is presented as a hierarchy of protected relationships: the father asserts limits on what can be exchanged, prioritizing duty and affection over transactional demand.
This is a repeated reading/tradition of the father’s refusal statement within the sarga transmission, emphasizing the same decision before the middle son speaks.
Consistency in stance—maintaining one’s declared principle when pressed by authority.