Shloka 7
क॑ तु जह्यामहं पुत्र कमादाय व्रजाम्पहम् । कि नु मे स्यात् कृतं कृत्वा मन्यध्वं पुत्रका: कथम्,मैं किस बच्चेको छोड़ दूँ और किसे साथ लेकर जाऊँ? क्या करनेसे कृतकृत्य हो सकती हूँ? मेरे बच्चो! तुमलोगोंकी क्या राय है?
kaṁ tu jahyām ahaṁ putra kam ādāya vrajāmy aham | ki nu me syāt kṛtaṁ kṛtvā manyadhvaṁ putrakāḥ katham ||
“Hỡi con ta, ta phải bỏ đứa nào, và mang đứa nào theo? Làm việc gì thì ta mới có thể thấy mình đã trọn đạo? Nói cho ta biết, các con của ta—các con nghĩ ta nên làm thế nào?”
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical deliberation in a family crisis: before acting, one seeks counsel and asks what course of action would truly count as ‘duty fulfilled’ (kṛtaṁ kṛtvā), emphasizing responsibility and the weight of choosing between competing obligations.
A parent addresses a son and the other children, voicing a painful choice—whom to leave behind and whom to take along—and asks them to advise what action would make the situation rightly resolved, framing the moment as a shared moral decision.