Shloka 40

Adhyaya 3 — The Dharmapakshis’ Past-Life Curse and Indra’s Test of Truthfulness

Sanskrit

पितृदेवमनुष्याणां यान्युक्तानि ऋणानि वै ।

तान्यपाकुरुते पुत्रो न शरीरप्रदः सुतः ॥

Transliteration

pitṛ-deva-manuṣyāṇāṃ yānyuktāni ṛṇāni vai / tānyapākurute putro na śarīrapradaḥ sutaḥ

Translation

Daripada hutang yang diwajibkan terhadap para leluhur, para dewa, dan sesama manusia—barangsiapa melunasinya, dialah benar-benar “anak”; bukan semata-mata yang hanya memberikan (kepada ayah) sebuah tubuh, yakni sekadar zuriat biologis.

Speakers

• Not in Devi Mahatmyam frame; early Markandeya Purana instruction (speaker varies by edition
• generally within the main narrator’s didactic passage)

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Gṛhastha-dharma
• Three debts (ṛṇa-traya)
• Ethics of lineage and duty
• Pitṛ-yajña / ancestor obligation