Shloka 17
परिक्षिद्वृत्तान्तप्रश्नः
Inquiry into Parīkṣit’s Conduct and the Beginnings of His Downfall
लोकात् पुण्यादिह भ्रष्टा: संतानप्रक्षयान्मुने । प्रणष्टं नस्तपस्तीव्रं न हि नस्तन्तुरस्ति वै,मुने! वंशपरम्पराका क्षय होनेके कारण हमें पुण्य-लोकसे भ्रष्ट होना पड़ा है। हमारी तीव्र तपस्या नष्ट हो गयी; क्योंकि हमारे कुलमें अब कोई संतति नहीं रह गयी है
lokāt puṇyād iha bhraṣṭāḥ saṃtāna-prakṣayān mune | praṇaṣṭaṃ nas tapas tīvraṃ na hi nas tantur asti vai ||
Disse Takṣaka: “Ó sábio, porque a nossa linhagem de descendentes foi cortada, caímos aqui desde os mundos meritórios. A nossa severa austeridade tornou-se vã, pois, de fato, já não há continuidade alguma de nossa estirpe.”
तक्षक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links spiritual merit and stability to continuity of dharmic order through lineage: when progeny and family continuity are destroyed, even accumulated merit and austerity are portrayed as becoming fruitless, leading to a fall from higher states.
Takṣaka addresses a sage, lamenting that the destruction of their progeny has severed their lineage (‘tantu’), causing them to lose their standing in the meritorious worlds and rendering their intense ascetic efforts ineffective.