Shloka 39
Vyāsa’s Counsel to the Concealed Pāṇḍavas; Śaṃkara’s Boon and the Predestination of Draupadī
Chapter 157
आत्मानमपि चोत्सृज्य तप्स्यामि परलोकग: । त्यक्ता होते मया व्यक्त नेह शक्ष्यन्ति जीवितुम्,अपनेको भी त्यागकर परलोकमें जानेपर मैं सदा इस बातके लिये संतप्त होता रहूँगा कि मेरे द्वारा त्यागे हुए ये बच्चे अवश्य ही यहाँ जीवित नहीं रह सकेंगे
ātmānam api ca utsṛjya tapsyāmi paralokagaḥ | tyaktā hote mayā vyakta neha śakṣyanti jīvitum ||
“纵使我舍弃自身性命，前往来世，我也将为此念所折磨：这些孩子既已分明被我遗弃，便无法在此世存活。”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Renunciation that harms dependents is ethically fraught: abandoning one’s own life does not erase responsibility, and the moral weight of neglect—especially of children—follows as remorse even beyond death.
A brāhmaṇa voices anguish at the prospect of leaving (even by death or renunciation), because he foresees that the children he would be leaving behind, once clearly abandoned, will not be able to survive in this world.