Verse 9.137

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

पुत्रेण लोकान्जयति पौत्रेणानन्त्यमश्नुते ।
अथ पुत्रस्य पौत्रेण ब्रध्नस्याप्नोति विष्टपम् ॥ १३७ ॥

putreṇa lokānjayati pautreṇānantyamaśnute |
atha putrasya pautreṇa bradhnasyāpnoti viṣṭapam || 137 ||

Through the son one conquers the worlds, through the grandson he obtains immortality, and through the son’s grandson he attains the regions of the Sun.—(137)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

^‘Through the son’—when born,—i.e. through the help rendered by him—‘one conquers’—wins—‘the worlds’—the ten ‘sorrowless regions,’ Heaven and the rest’. That is he becomes bo rn in those regions.

Similarly ‘through the grandson, he obtains immortality’—i-e., long residence in those regions.

‘Through the son’s grandson he attains the regions of the Sun’—i.e., he becomes effulgent and is not be dimmed by any sort of darkness.—(137)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Aparārka (p. 103), which explains ‘Bradhna’ as the sun;—in Vyavahāra-Balāmbhaṭṭī (pp. 657 and 707);—in Vīramitrodaya (Vyavahāra 199b);—and by Jīmūtavāhana (Dāyabhāga, p. 249).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Bodyayana (2. 16.6).—‘“Through a son one conquers the worlds, through a grandson one obtains immortality; and through the son’s grandson one ascends to the highest heaven”;—this has been declared in the Veda.’

Vaśiṣṭha (17.5).—‘Through a son one conquers the worlds; through a grandson one obtains immortality; and through the son’s grandson one gains the world of the Sun.’

Do. (Vivādaratnākara, p. 585).—‘For one. who has a son, there are immortal regions; there is no higher region for one who has no son; childless persons are mere eaters.’

Viṣṇu (15.46).—‘Through a son one conquers the worlds; through a grandson one obtains immortality; and through the son’s grandson one gains the world of the Sun.’

Yājñavalkya (1.78).—‘The worlds, immortality and heaven are attained respectively through the son, the grandson and the great-grandson,’

Śaṅkha-Likhita (Vivādaratnākara, p. 584).—‘Agnihotra, the three Vedas, Sacrifices with hundreds of sacrificial fees,—these are not equal even to the sixteenth part of the birth of the first-born son; for one who has secured sons and grandsons during his life-time and while he is still performing sacrifices without interruption, the heaven is always within grasp.’