Shloka 17
ततोऊहं पांसुना छिद्रमपिधास्यामि पुत्रका: । एवं प्रतिकृतं मन््ये ज्वलत: कृष्णवर्त्मन:,तुमलोगोंके घुस जानेपर मैं इस बिलका छेद धूलसे बंद कर दूँगी। बच्चो! मेरा विश्वास है, ऐसा करनेसे इस जलती आगसे तुम्हारा बचाव हो सकेगा
tato ’haṃ pāṃsunā chidram apidhāsyāmi putrakāḥ | evaṃ pratikṛtaṃ manye jvalataḥ kṛṣṇavartmanaḥ ||
Pagkaraan ay sinabi niya: “Mga anak ko, kapag nakapasok na kayo, tatakpan ko ng alikabok ang bunganga ng lunggang ito. Naniniwala akong sa paggawa nito ay matutumbasan ko ang panganib—maililigtas ko kayo sa naglalagablab na apoy, na may maitim na landas ng usok.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Protective action guided by clear judgment: in a crisis, one should use practical means to safeguard dependents, even if it requires personal effort and risk. The verse also hints at reciprocity—responding to danger with an effective countermeasure (pratikṛta).
A mother figure addresses her children, instructing them to enter a burrow; she will then block the entrance with dust so that the advancing, smoke-dark fire cannot reach them.