रेतोधाः पुत्रो नयति नरदेव यमक्षयात् ।
त्वं चास्य धाता गर्भस्य सत्यमाह शकुन्तला ॥२२॥

reto-dhÄḥ putro nayati
naradeva yama-ká¹£ayÄt
tvaá¹ cÄsya dhÄtÄ garbhasya
satyam Äha Å›akuntalÄ

 retaḥ-dhÄḥ - a person who discharges semen; putraḥ - the son; nayati - saves; nara-deva - O King (MahÄrÄja Duá¹£manta); yama-ká¹£ayÄt - from punishment by YamarÄja, or from the custody of YamarÄja; tvam - your good self; ca - and; asya - of this child; dhÄtÄ - the creator; garbhasya - of the embryo; satyam - truthfully; Äha - said; Å›akuntalÄ - your wife, ÅšakuntalÄ.


Text

O King Duá¹£manta, he who discharges semen is the actual father, and his son saves him from the custody of YamarÄja. You are the actual procreator of this child. Indeed, ÅšakuntalÄ is speaking the truth.

Purport

Upon hearing the omen, MahÄrÄja Duá¹£manta accepted his wife and child. According to Vedic smá¹›ti:

pun-nÄmno narakÄd yasmÄt
 pitaraá¹ trÄyate sutaḥ
tasmÄt putra iti proktaḥ
 svayam eva svayambhuvÄ

Because a son delivers his father from punishment in the hell called put, the son is called putra. According to this principle, when there is a disagreement between the father and mother, it is the father, not the mother, who is delivered by the son. But if the wife is faithful and firmly adherent to her husband, when the father is delivered the mother is also delivered. Consequently, there is no such thing as divorce in the Vedic literature. A wife is always trained to be chaste and faithful to her husband, for this helps her achieve deliverance from any abominable material condition. This verse clearly says, putro nayati naradeva yama-ká¹£ayÄt: “The son saves his father from the custody of YamarÄja.†It never says, putro nayati mÄtaram: “The son saves his mother.†The seed-giving father is delivered, not the storekeeper mother. Consequently, husband and wife should not separate under any condition, for if they have a child whom they raise to be a Vaiṣṇava, he can save both the father and mother from the custody of YamarÄja and punishment in hellish life.