Shloka 16
आपद्-राजनीतिः (Āpad-rājanīti) — Policy Options in Multi-Front Crisis
एकपुत्र: पिता पुत्रे नष्टे वा प्रोषितेडपि वा । प्रवृत्ति यो न जानाति सा55शा कृशतरी मया
ekaputraḥ pitā putre naṣṭe vā proṣite ’pi vā | pravṛttiṃ yo na jānāti sāśā kṛśatarī mayā ||
一个只有独子的父亲——若那儿子失踪，或哪怕只是远赴异邦——当父亲全无音讯可知时，他心中仍残存的那一点希望，比我还要更纤薄、更脆弱。
कृश उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when circumstances are painful and uncertain, hope persists—but it can become extremely fragile when fueled by attachment and lack of clear knowledge. The verse highlights the psychological cost of not knowing (pravṛtti) and the way longing can ‘thin’ one’s inner steadiness.
The speaker (Kṛśa) uses a vivid comparison: a one-son father who has no news of his missing or absent son still clings to hope, yet that hope is described as even more ‘emaciated’ than the speaker—underscoring the intensity of anxiety and the tenuous nature of expectation in such a situation.