Shloka 17
कृपकृपी-जननम्
The Birth of Kṛpa and Kṛpī; Kṛpa’s Attainment of Astras
देहनाशे ध्रुवोी नाश: पितृणामेष निश्चय: । ऋणैश्नतुर्भि: संयुक्ता जायन्ते मानवा भुवि
dehanāśe dhruvo nāśaḥ pitṝṇām eṣa niścayaḥ | ṛṇaiś caturbhiḥ saṃyuktā jāyante mānavā bhuvi ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Khi thân xác này hoại diệt, sự sa đọa của tổ tiên ta ắt sẽ xảy ra—đó là chân lý đã được xác lập. Bởi con người sinh ra trên đời vốn đã mang ràng buộc của bốn món nợ.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human life is framed by dharma as a set of inherited obligations (ṛṇa). One must act so that these debts—especially duties toward ancestors—are properly discharged; neglect is portrayed as leading to ancestral harm and moral failure.
Vaiśampāyana reports a speaker’s anxiety that if he dies without fulfilling his responsibilities (notably connected with lineage and ancestral rites), his forefathers will suffer. The verse introduces the doctrine that humans are born already carrying four debts, setting up the ethical rationale for the actions that follow.