Сути (Уграшравас)
तथा भीष्मः शांतनवो गङ्गायाम् अमितद्युतिः ॥
वसुवीर्यात् समभवन् महावीर्यो महायशाः ॥
शूले प्रोतः पुराणर्षिर् अचोरश् चोरशङ्कया ॥
अणीमाण्डव्य इति वै विख्यातः सुमहायशाः ॥
स धर्मम् आहूय पुरा महर्षिर् इदम् उक्तवान् ॥
इषीकया मया बाल्याद् एका विद्धा शकुन्तिका ॥
तत् किल्बिषं स्मरे धर्म नान्यत् पापम् अहं स्मरे ॥
तन् मे सहस्रसमितं कस्मान् नेहाजयत् तपः ॥
गरीयान् ब्राह्मणवधः सर्वभूतवधाद् यतः ॥
तस्मात् त्वं किल्बिषाद् अस्माच् छूद्रयोनौ जनिष्यसि ॥
तेन शापेन धर्मो ऽपि शूद्रयोनाव् अजायत ॥
विद्वान् विदुररूपेण धार्मी तनुर् अकिल्बिषी ॥
संजयो मुनिकल्पस् तु जज्ञे सूतो गवल्गणात् ॥
सूर्याच् च कुन्तिकन्यायां जज्ञे कर्णो महारथः ॥
सहजं कवचं बिभ्रत् कुण्डलोद्द्योतिताननः ॥
अनुग्रहार्थं लोकानां विष्णुर् लोकनमस्कृतः ॥
वसुदेवात् तु देवक्यां प्रादुर्भूतो महायशाः ॥
अनादिनिधनो देवः स कर्ता जगतः प्रभुः ॥
अव्यक्तम् अक्षरं ब्रह्म प्रधानं निर्गुणात्मकम् ॥
आत्मानम् अव्ययं चैव प्रकृतिं प्रभवं परम् ॥
पुरुषं विश्वकर्माणं सत्त्वयोगं ध्रुवाक्षरम् ॥
अनन्तम् अचलं देवं हंसं नारायणं प्रभुम् ॥
धातारम् अजरं नित्यं तम् आहुः परम् अव्ययम् ॥
पुरुषः स विभुः कर्ता सर्वभूतपितामहः ॥
धर्मसंवर्धनार्थाय प्रजज्ञे ऽन्धकवृष्णिषु ॥
अस्त्रज्ञौ तु महावीर्यौ सर्वशस्त्रविशारदौ ॥
सात्यकिः कृतवर्मा च नारायणम् अनुव्रतौ ॥
सत्यकाद् धृदिकाच् चैव जज्ञाते ऽस्त्रविशारदौ ॥
भरद्वाजस्य च स्कन्नं द्रोण्यां शुक्रम् अवर्धत ॥
महर्षेर् उग्रतपसस् तस्माद् द्रोणो व्यजायत ॥
गौतमान् मिथुनं जज्ञे शरस्तम्बाच् छरद्वतः ॥
अश्वत्थाम्नश् च जननी कृपश् चैव महाबलः ॥
अश्वत्थामा ततो जज्ञे द्रोणाद् अस्त्रभृतां वरः ॥
tathā bhīṣmaḥ śāṃtanavo gaṅgāyām amitadyutiḥ ||
vasuvīryāt samabhavan mahāvīryo mahāyaśāḥ ||
śūle protaḥ purāṇarṣir acoraś coraśaṅkayā ||
aṇīmāṇḍavya iti vai vikhyātaḥ sumahāyaśāḥ ||
sa dharmam āhūya purā maharṣir idam uktavān ||
iṣīkayā mayā bālyād ekā viddhā śakuntikā ||
tat kilbiṣaṃ smare dharma nānyat pāpam ahaṃ smare ||
tan me sahasrasamitaṃ kasmān nehājayat tapaḥ ||
garīyān brāhmaṇavadhaḥ sarvabhūtavadhād yataḥ ||
tasmāt tvaṃ kilbiṣād asmāc chūdrayonau janiṣyasi ||
tena śāpena dharmo 'pi śūdrayonāv ajāyata ||
vidvān vidurarūpeṇa dhārmī tanur akilbiṣī ||
saṃjayo munikalpas tu jajñe sūto gavalgaṇāt ||
sūryāc ca kuntikanyāyāṃ jajñe karṇo mahārathaḥ ||
sahajaṃ kavacaṃ bibhrat kuṇḍaloddyotitānanaḥ ||
anugrahārthaṃ lokānāṃ viṣṇur lokanamaskṛtaḥ ||
vasudevāt tu devakyāṃ prādurbhūto mahāyaśāḥ ||
anādinidhano devaḥ sa kartā jagataḥ prabhuḥ ||
avyaktam akṣaraṃ brahma pradhānaṃ nirguṇātmakam ||
ātmānam avyayaṃ caiva prakṛtiṃ prabhavaṃ param ||
puruṣaṃ viśvakarmāṇaṃ sattvayogaṃ dhruvākṣaram ||
anantam acalaṃ devaṃ haṃsaṃ nārāyaṇaṃ prabhum ||
dhātāram ajaraṃ nityaṃ tam āhuḥ param avyayam ||
puruṣaḥ sa vibhuḥ kartā sarvabhūtapitāmahaḥ ||
dharmasaṃvardhanārthāya prajajñe 'ndhakavṛṣṇiṣu ||
astrajñau tu mahāvīryau sarvaśastraviśāradau ||
sātyakiḥ kṛtavarmā ca nārāyaṇam anuvratau ||
satyakād dhṛdikāc caiva jajñāte 'straviśāradau ||
bharadvājasya ca skannaṃ droṇyāṃ śukram avardhata ||
maharṣer ugratapasas tasmād droṇo vyajāyata ||
gautamān mithunaṃ jajñe śarastambāc charadvataḥ ||
aśvatthāmnaś ca jananī kṛpaś caiva mahābalaḥ ||
aśvatthāmā tato jajñe droṇād astrabhṛtāṃ varaḥ ||
And Bhishma, son of Shantanu, of boundless radiance, was born to Ganga from the seed of [one of] the Vasus, mighty in valor, greatly renowned. [There lived] also an ancient sage, no thief, [yet] impaled upon a stake on suspicion of theft, renowned [as] Animandavya, of surpassing glory. That great sage, summoning [the god] Dharma, said to him: 'In childhood I pierced a little bird with a reed. That sin I remember, O Dharma; no other sin do I remember. For that — now repaid a thousandfold — why did my austerity not overcome it? [Since] the slaying of a brahmin is graver than the slaying of [any] other being, for this sin [which you have repaid beyond measure] you shall be born in the womb of a shudra.' By that curse [the god] Dharma, learned, sinless, [himself] dharma incarnate, was born in the womb of a shudra in the form of Vidura. Sanjaya, resembling a sage, a suta, was born from Gavalgana. From [the god] Surya (the Sun), to the maiden Kunti was born the great warrior Karna, bearing armor born with him, [his] face illumined by earrings. And Vishnu, honored by the worlds, for the sake of grace to the worlds, appeared from Vasudeva to Devaki, greatly renowned. He is the god without beginning or end, the creator and lord of the world; the unmanifest, imperishable Brahman, the primal substance, [by nature] beyond the gunas; the unchanging Atman, the supreme nature and source, the Purusha, all-creating, [abiding] in goodness, firm and imperishable; the boundless, unmoving god, Hamsa, Narayana, the lord, the ordainer, unaging, eternal — him they call the supreme, the imperishable. That all-pervading Purusha, the creator, the grandsire of all beings, for the increase of dharma was born among [the clans of] Andhaka and Vrishni. And Satyaki, and Kritavarman, [both] masters of weapons, devoted to Narayana, were born from Satyaka and Hridika. The seed of Bharadvaja, having spilled forth, grew in a vessel (drona); from this, to that great sage of fierce austerity, Drona was born. To Sharadvata, [descendant] of Gautama, from a clump of reeds was born a twin — the mother of Ashvatthaman [Kripi] and mighty Kripa; then from Drona was born Ashvatthaman, best of those who bear weapons.
388ff8d789f2 · published Jul 12, 2026, 3:23:57 PM UTC
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Here is the heart of the whole chapter: amid the list of heroic births, the appearance of Vishnu Himself as Krishna is proclaimed. It is significant that the scripture, having listed men and demigods, pauses and bursts into a hymn to Krishna: 'without beginning or end, the creator and lord of the world... Narayana... the supreme, the imperishable.' Here is the core of the teaching: Krishna is not one hero among others but the Supreme Lord Himself (Svayam Bhagavan), descended 'for the sake of grace to the worlds and the increase of dharma' (cf. Gita 4.7-8). The name of the place of His appearance is also significant: the clans of Andhaka and Vrishni — that is, the Lord comes not in the splendor of a kingdom but into a pastoral clan, showing His closeness to the humble. Note too the other wondrous births: the god Dharma as Vidura (by the curse of Animandavya) — righteousness embodied in the 'low' womb of a shudra, to show that dharma knows no boundaries of caste; Karna — son of the Sun and Kunti, whose secret will become the mainspring of tragedy; Drona, Kripa, Ashvatthaman — teachers of the art of war. Thus the scripture reveals that behind the human faces of the epic stand descended gods and powers; and above them all — Krishna Himself, for whose sake everything unfolds.