Shloka 24
Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
पत्नी उवाच राजन् जातम् अपत्यं मे सतां पुत्रफलाः स्त्रियः ।
स मां प्रदाय वित्तेन देहि विप्राय दक्षिणाम् ॥
patny uvāca rājan jātam apatyaṃ me satāṃ putraphalāḥ striyaḥ |
sa māṃ pradāya vittena dehi viprāya dakṣiṇām ||
بیوی نے کہا—اے راجن، میرے ہاں ایک بیٹا پیدا ہوا ہے۔ نیکوکاروں کے لیے عورتیں پُتر کا پھل پاتی ہیں۔ اس لیے مال سے میری مناسب کفالت کرکے، کسی یاجنک برہمن کو شریعت کے مطابق دکشِنا عطا کیجیے۔
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FAQs
The verse links domestic prosperity (childbirth) with dharmic reciprocity: the householder should support dependents first (“provide for me with wealth”) and then complete social-religious obligations by honoring learned Brahmanas with dakṣiṇā. It presents childbirth not merely as private joy but as an occasion for righteous giving and sustaining the ritual-ethical order.
This passage aligns primarily with Vamśānucarita / Dharma-upadeśa-type material (conduct and social duty within lineage/household life) rather than Sarga (creation), Pratisarga (re-creation), Manvantara, or detailed genealogical Vamśa. It functions as normative dharma instruction embedded in narrative.
On a symbolic level, “offspring” signifies continuity of dharma and tradition; “dakṣiṇā” represents the right circulation of wealth (artha) toward sacred knowledge (brahma-tejas). The sequence—secure the household, then offer to the worthy—encodes an inner discipline: stabilize life-force and responsibility first, then dedicate surplus to higher aims.