Shloka 11
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 85: Āṣṭaka–Yayāti संवादः
Merit-Exhaustion, Rebirth, and the Critique of Pride
पूर्णे वर्षमहस्रे तु पुनर्दास्थामि यौवनम् । स्वं चैव प्रतिपत्स्यामि पाप्मानं जरया सह,एक हजार वर्ष पूर्ण होनेपर मैं तुम्हें जवानी लौटा दूँगा और बुढ़ापेसहित अपने दोषको वापस ले लूँगा
pūrṇe varṣa-sahasre tu punar dāsthāmi yauvanam | svaṃ caiva pratipatsyāmi pāpmānaṃ jarayā saha ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: “Quando se completarem mil anos, eu te restituirei a juventude; e tomarei de volta sobre mim a minha própria mancha — juntamente com a velhice.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Gifts like youth and power are ethically conditioned and time-bound; the consequences (jarā and pāpmān) cannot be permanently displaced and must return to the one responsible. The verse underscores accountability and the inevitability of time.
A speaker, reported by Vaiśampāyana, promises a temporary exchange: the recipient will enjoy renewed youth for a thousand years, after which the giver will reclaim both the old age and the associated moral burden.