Canto 3 -
Araṇya-kāṇḍa
Chapter 16: Lakṣmaṇa’s Description of Winter
Text 3.16.34
न पित्र्यमनुवर्तन्ते मातृकं द्विपदा इति।
ख्यातो लोकप्रवादोऽयं भरतेनान्यथा कृतः॥
na pitryam anuvartante mātṛkaṁ dvi-padā iti
khyāto loka-pravādo ’yaṁ bharatenānyathā kṛtaḥ
na = not; pitryam = their father’s nature; anuvartante = do follow; mātṛkam = [they follow] their mother’s nature; dvi-padāḥ iti = humans; khyātaḥ = famous; loka-pravādaḥ = worldly saying; ayam = the; bharatena = Bharata; anyathā kṛtaḥ = has disproven.
Bharata has disproven the famous worldly saying, “Humans do not follow their father’s nature; [they follow] their mother’s nature.”
Dvi-padāḥ (“humans”) [literally] means “the two-legged.”
[The worldly saying has been disproven by Bharata] because He has only followed His father’s nature, not His mother’s nature.