Shloka 13
भरद्वाजपुत्रवधः
The Slaying of Bharadvāja’s Son and the Sage’s Lament
य:ः स जानन् महातेजा वृद्धस्यैकं ममात्मजम् | गतवानेव कोपस्य वशं परमदुर्मति:,तात! मैंने तुम्हें बार-बार मना किया था कि तुम रैभ्यके आश्रमकी ओर न देखना, परंतु तुम उसे देखने चले ही गये और वह तुम्हारे लिये काल, अन्तक एवं यमराजके समान हो गया। महान् तेजस्वी होनेपर भी उसकी बुद्धि बड़ी खोटी है। वह जानता था कि मुझ बूढ़ेके तुम एक ही पुत्र हो तो भी वह दुष्ट क्रोधके वशीभूत हो ही गया
yaḥ sa jānann mahātejā vṛddhasyaikaṃ mamātmajam | gatavān eva kopasya vaśaṃ paramadurmatir, tāta |
Bharadvāja disse: “Aquele homem—embora dotado de grande fulgor espiritual—tinha um juízo inteiramente perverso. Mesmo sabendo que tu és meu único filho na minha velhice, ainda assim se deixou dominar pela ira. Meu filho, eu te adverti repetidas vezes para não olhares na direção do eremitério de Raibhya; contudo foste e olhaste, e esse próprio ato tornou-se para ti como a Morte, o Aniquilador e o próprio Yama.”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even great spiritual power (tejas) is ethically hollow without self-restraint; anger can overpower judgment and lead to destructive outcomes. The verse also stresses the moral weight of heeding wise counsel, especially when the consequences are foreseeable.
Bharadvāja laments that a powerful person, despite knowing Bharadvāja’s vulnerability as an old man with only one son, still succumbed to anger. He reminds his son that he had repeatedly warned him not to look toward Raibhya’s hermitage, but the son disobeyed, and that act proved fatal—like encountering Death itself.