Shloka 70
Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha
धर्मद्या हि यथा त्रेता वल्नित्रेता तथैव च | तथैव पुत्रपौत्राणां स्वर्गस्त्रेता किलाक्षय:
dharmādyā hi yathā tretā vahni-tretā tathaiva ca | tathaiva putra-pautrāṇāṃ svargas tretā kilākṣayaḥ ||
儿子说道：“正如以法（dharma）为首，与利（artha）与欲（kāma）相合之三者，是通往天界的三重资粮；又如三种圣火——阿诃婆尼耶火（Āhavanīya）、伽尔诃钵底耶火（Gārhapatya）与达克希那火（Dakṣiṇāgni）——同为得天之三种法器；同样，后嗣三代——子、孙与曾孙——亦被说能确立不坏之天。”
पुत्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches by analogy that human life is structured around meaningful triads: dharma with artha and kāma, the three Vedic fires, and the three generations of descendants. It emphasizes that sustaining dharma and household continuity—symbolized by ritual fires and progeny—supports lasting spiritual merit, described here as ‘imperishable heaven’ (akṣaya svarga).
A son is speaking and uses well-known Vedic and ethical frameworks to persuade or instruct: he compares established triads (purushārthas and ritual fires) to the threefold succession of descendants, asserting that maintaining a lineage (son–grandson–great-grandson) is traditionally praised as a powerful means of securing enduring posthumous welfare.