Shloka 48
स एवमुक्त उपाध्यायं प्रत्युवाच भो: फेनं पिबामि यमिमे वत्सा मातृणां स्तनात् पिबन्त उद्गिरन्ति,इस प्रकार पूछनेपर उसने उपाध्यायको उत्तर दिया--'भगवन्! ये बछड़े अपनी माताओंके स्तनोंका दूध पीते समय जो फेन उगल देते हैं, उसीको पी लेता हूँ”
sa evam ukta upādhyāyaṁ pratyuvāca bhoḥ—phenaṁ pibāmi yam ime vatsā mātṝṇāṁ stanāt pibanta udgiranti |
ਇਸ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਪੁੱਛਣ ਤੇ ਉਸ ਨੇ ਉਪਾਧਿਆਇ ਨੂੰ ਉੱਤਰ ਦਿੱਤਾ—“ਭਗਵਨ! ਇਹ ਵੱਛੇ ਆਪਣੀਆਂ ਮਾਵਾਂ ਦੇ ਥਣਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਦੁੱਧ ਪੀਂਦਿਆਂ ਜੋ ਝੱਗ ਉਗਲ ਦੇਂਦੇ ਹਨ, ਮੈਂ ਉਹੀ ਝੱਗ ਪੀ ਲੈਂਦਾ ਹਾਂ।”
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a stark confession to emphasize that a student’s life should be governed by disciplined conduct (ācāra) and purity; living on impure or exploitative remnants symbolizes moral decline and the necessity of restraint under a teacher’s guidance.
After being questioned by his teacher, the speaker admits that he drinks the foam ejected by calves while they nurse—revealing his manner of sustenance and, implicitly, a questionable practice that invites ethical scrutiny.