सौदासेन च रम्भोरु नियुक्तापत्यजन्मनि ॥
मदयन्ती जगामर्षिं वसिष्ठम् इति नः श्रुतम् ॥
तस्माल् लेभे च सा पुत्रम् अश्मकं नाम भामिनी ॥
भार्या कल्माषपादस्य भर्तुः प्रियचिकीर्षया ॥
अस्माकम् अपि ते जन्म विदितं कमलेक्षणे ॥
कृष्णद्वैपायनाद् भीरु कुरूणां वंशवृद्धये ॥
अत एतानि सर्वाणि कारणानि समीक्ष्य वै ॥
ममैतद् वचनं धर्म्यं कर्तुम् अर्हस्य् अनिन्दिते ॥
saudāsena ca rambhoru niyuktāpatyajanmani ||
madayantī jagāmarṣiṃ vasiṣṭham iti naḥ śrutam ||
tasmāl lebhe ca sā putram aśmakaṃ nāma bhāminī ||
bhāryā kalmāṣapādasya bhartuḥ priyacikīrṣayā ||
asmākam api te janma viditaṃ kamalekṣaṇe ||
kṛṣṇadvaipāyanād bhīru kurūṇāṃ vaṃśavṛddhaye ||
ata etāni sarvāṇi kāraṇāni samīkṣya vai ||
mamaitad vacanaṃ dharmyaṃ kartum arhasy anindite ||
«And by Saudasa, O fair-hipped one, appointed for the begetting of offspring, Madayanti went to the sage Vasishtha, as we have heard, and obtained from him a son named Ashmaka — the wife of Kalmashapada, wishing to please her husband. And our own birth, too, is known to you, O lotus-eyed one — from Krishna-Dvaipayana, for the increase of the Kuru lineage. So, having considered all these reasons, you must fulfill this word of mine, in accord with dharma, O blameless one».
ff1749c0179c · published Jul 12, 2026, 4:41:49 PM UTC
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Here Pandu reinforces his plea with a chain of precedents for niyoga, including his own birth. It is telling that he invokes his own lineage: he himself, Dhritarashtra, and Vidura were born through niyoga from Vyasa — so this path has already been sanctified in their family. Here is the power of example and tradition: dharma is affirmed not in the abstract but through a chain of worthy precedents. Telling too is that in every example niyoga is performed "wishing to please the husband," by the husband's will and for the sake of the lineage, not out of lust — by this Pandu draws the line between what is permitted and debauchery. Thus the scripture shows niyoga as an ordered ordinance of the past, in accord with dharma, toward which Pandu inclines Kunti, resting on sanctified antiquity.