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 ||
“孩子啊，我该舍弃哪一个，又该带走哪一个？做何事我才能真正觉得尽了本分？告诉我吧，我的孩子们——你们以为我当如何？”
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.