Shloka 50
Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ
King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt
स्कन्नमात्रं च तद् रेतो वृक्षपत्रेण भूमिप: । प्रतिजग्राह मिथ्या मे न पतेद् रेत इत्युत,उसके स्खलित होते ही राजाने यह सोचकर कि मेरा वीर्य व्यर्थ न जाय, उसे वृक्षके पत्तेपर उठा लिया
skannamātraṃ ca tad reto vṛkṣapatreṇa bhūmipaḥ | pratijagrāha mithyā me na pated reto ity uta ||
ਵੀਰਜ ਸਖਲਿਤ ਹੋਂਦਿਆਂ ਹੀ ਭੂਪਤੀ ਨੇ ਇਹ ਸੋਚ ਕੇ ਕਿ ਮੇਰਾ ਬੀਜ ਵਿਅਰਥ ਨਾ ਜਾਵੇ, ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਰੁੱਖ ਦੇ ਪੱਤੇ ਉੱਤੇ ਫੜ ਲਿਆ—“ਮੇਰਾ ਰੇਤ ਨਿਸ਼ਫਲ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਨਾ ਡਿੱਗੇ।”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight placed on progeny and continuity of lineage in royal dharma: even an unintended loss of seed is treated as something not to be wasted, reflecting a worldview where generative power is tied to duty and future responsibility.
At the moment semen is discharged, the king hastily catches it on a tree leaf, explicitly thinking that it should not be wasted or fall uselessly—an action that sets up subsequent narrative consequences connected with birth and lineage.