Text 56
tvaṁ tāta nārhasi ca māṁ kṛpaṇām anāthāṁ
tyaktuṁ vicakṣva pitaraṁ tava śoka-taptam
añjas tarema bhavatāpraja-dustaraṁ yad
dhvāntaṁ na yāhy akaruṇena yamena dūram
tvam — you; tāta — my dear son; na — not; arhasi — ought; ca — and; mām — me; kṛpaṇām — very poor; anāthām — without a protector; tyaktum — to give up; vicakṣva — look; pitaram — at the father; tava — your; śoka-taptam — affected by so much lamentation; añjaḥ — easily; tarema — we can cross; bhavatā — by you; apraja-dustaram — very difficult to cross for one without a son; yat — which; dhvāntam — the kingdom of darkness; na yāhi — do not go away; akaruṇena — merciless; yamena — with Yamarāja; dūram — any further.
My dear son, I am helpless and very much aggrieved. You should not give up my company. Just look at your lamenting father. We are helpless because without a son we shall have to suffer the distress of going to the darkest hellish regions. You are the only hope by which we can get out of these dark regions. Therefore I request you not to go any further with the merciless Yama.
According to the Vedic injunctions, one must accept a wife just to beget a son who can deliver one from the clutches of Yamarāja. Unless one has a son to offer oblations to the pitās, or forefathers, one must suffer in Yamarāja’s kingdom. King Citraketu was very much aggrieved, thinking that because his son was going away with Yamarāja he himself would again suffer. The subtle laws exist for the karmīs; if one becomes a devotee, he has no more obligations to the laws of karma.