Shloka 16
Uttaṅka’s Petition for Madayantī’s Divine Earrings (Maṇikuṇḍala) — Agreement, Proof, and Vigilance
जरेयं नावबुद्धा मे नाभिज्ञातं सुखं च मे । शतवर्षोषितं मां हि न त्वमभ्यनुजानिथा:
jarā iyaṁ nāvabuddhā me nābhijñātaṁ sukhaṁ ca me | śatavārṣoṣitaṁ māṁ hi na tvam abhyanujānithaḥ ||
Uttaṅka nói: “Con chẳng hề hay biết tuổi già đã đến với mình, cũng chưa từng nếm trải lạc thú thế gian. Quả thật, dẫu con đã ở đây trọn một trăm năm, Thầy vẫn chưa ban phép cho con rời đi.”
उत्तडुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Single-minded service and disciplined devotion to one’s teacher and duty can make one indifferent to personal comfort and even unaware of time’s passage; yet dharma also requires proper permission and completion of obligations before returning to worldly life.
Uttaṅka addresses his superior, stating that he has remained in service so long that he neither sought pleasure nor noticed aging, and he emphasizes that despite a hundred years of residence he has not been granted leave to depart.