Shloka 24
Āśramadharma and the Marks of the Muni
Yayāti–Aṣṭaka Saṃvāda
मम ज्येछेन यदुना नियोगो नानुपालित: । प्रतिकूल: पितुर्यश्ष न स पुत्र: सतां मत:,मेरे ज्येष्ठ पुत्र यदुने मेरी आज्ञाका पालन नहीं किया है। जो पिताके प्रतिकूल हो, वह सत्पुरुषोंकी दृष्टिमें पुत्र नहीं माना गया है
mama jyeṣṭhena yadunā niyogo nānupālitaḥ | pratikūlaḥ pitur yaś ca na sa putraḥ satāṃ mataḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Người con trưởng của ta, Yadu, đã không thi hành mệnh lệnh được giao phó. Kẻ nào trái nghịch với cha mình, theo phán đoán của bậc hiền thiện, không được xem là con đích thực.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts an ethical norm: a son’s legitimacy, in the eyes of the virtuous, is tied to honoring and obeying the father’s rightful injunction (niyoga). Deliberate opposition to the father is treated as a grave breach of dharma, undermining the very status of ‘son’ in moral terms.
Vaiśaṃpāyana reports a judgment about Yadu: though the eldest, he failed to follow a command given to him. This disobedience is framed not merely as personal defiance but as a dharmic fault, leading to the pronouncement that one who is contrary to his father is not counted as a son by the good.