Shloka 10
स्तम्बमित्रस्तप: कुर्याद् द्रोणो ब्रह्म॒विदां वर: । इत्येवमुक्त्वा प्रययौ पिता वो निर्घण: पुरा,पुत्रो! तुम्हारे निर्दयी पिता पहले ही यह कहकर चल दिये कि “जरितारि ज्येष्ठ है, अतः इस कुलकी रक्षाका भार इसीपर होगा। दूसरा पुत्र सारिसृक्क अपने पितरोंके कुलकी वृद्धि करनेवाला होगा। स्तम्बमित्र तपस्या करेगा और द्रोण ब्रह्मवेत्ताओंमें श्रेष्ठ होगा"
stambhamitras tapaḥ kuryād droṇo brahmavidāṁ varaḥ | ityevam uktvā prayayau pitā vo nirghṛṇaḥ purā, putra |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Having spoken thus, your pitiless father departed long ago, O son: ‘Stambhamitra shall undertake austerities, and Droṇa shall become the foremost among knowers of Brahman.’” The statement frames a father’s harsh, duty-centered allocation of each son’s life-path, privileging lineage-protection and prescribed roles over tenderness.
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharma-driven but emotionally harsh stance: a parent assigns life-duties—asceticism and pursuit of Brahman-knowledge—according to perceived role and destiny, showing how duty can be invoked at the cost of compassion.
Vaiśaṃpāyana reports that the father, after declaring what each son will become (Stambhamitra an ascetic; Droṇa a foremost knower of Brahman), leaves them behind; the departure is characterized as ‘nirghṛṇa’—without tenderness.