Shloka 11
देवा ऊचु: ऋणिनो मानवा ब्रह्मन् जायन्ते येन तच्छूणु । क्रियाभिन्रह्मचर्येण प्रजया च न संशय:
devā ūcuḥ—ṛṇino mānavā brahman jāyante yena tac chṛṇu | kriyābhir brahmacaryeṇa prajayā ca na saṃśayaḥ |
Para dewa berkata: “Wahai Brahmana, dengarlah sebab manusia lahir sebagai orang yang berhutang. Tiada syak bahawa semua insan memikul kewajipan—melalui tugas korban suci (yajña), melalui disiplin brahmacarya, dan melalui melahirkan zuriat. Dengan korban suci, tapa, dan pengajian Veda, hutang-hutang itu dilunaskan. Engkau memang seorang pertapa dan pelaksana yajña, namun engkau tidak mempunyai anak.”
मन्दपाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Humans are born with obligations (ṛṇa) that must be repaid through dharmic life: ritual duty (yajña/karma), disciplined Vedic conduct (brahmacarya and study), and continuation of lineage through offspring (prajā). A complete life is framed as responsibly discharging these debts.
Divine beings instruct a brahmin sage about the inborn human obligations and imply that, although he practices austerity and sacrifice, he remains deficient in the debt connected with progeny because he has no children.