वैशंपायन उवाच
संवत्सराहिते गर्भे गान्धार्या जनमेजय ॥
आह्वयाम् आस वै कुन्ती गर्भार्थं धर्मम् अच्युतम् ॥
सा बलिं त्वरिता देवी धर्मायोपजहार ह ॥
जजाप जप्यं विधिवद् दत्तं दुर्वाससा पुरा ॥
संगम्य सा तु धर्मेण योगमूर्तिधरेण वै ॥
लेभे पुत्रं वरारोहा सर्वप्राणभृतां वरम् ॥
ऐन्द्रे चन्द्रसमायुक्ते मुहूर्ते ऽभिजिते ऽष्टमे ॥
दिवा मध्यगते सूर्ये तिथौ पुण्ये ऽभिपूजिते ॥
समृद्धयशसं कुन्ती सुषाव समये सुतम् ॥
जातमात्रे सुते तस्मिन् वाग् उवाचाशरीरिणी ॥
एष धर्मभृतां श्रेष्ठो भविष्यति न संशयः ॥
युधिष्ठिर इति ख्यातः पाण्डोः प्रथमजः सुतः ॥
भविता प्रथितो राजा त्रिषु लोकेषु विश्रुतः ॥
यशसा तेजसा चैव वृत्तेन च समन्वितः ॥
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
saṃvatsarāhite garbhe gāndhāryā janamejaya ||
āhvayām āsa vai kuntī garbhārthaṃ dharmam acyutam ||
sā baliṃ tvaritā devī dharmāyopajahāra ha ||
jajāpa japyaṃ vidhivad dattaṃ durvāsasā purā ||
saṃgamya sā tu dharmeṇa yogamūrtidhareṇa vai ||
lebhe putraṃ varārohā sarvaprāṇabhṛtāṃ varam ||
aindre candrasamāyukte muhūrte 'bhijite 'ṣṭame ||
divā madhyagate sūrye tithau puṇye 'bhipūjite ||
samṛddhayaśasaṃ kuntī suṣāva samaye sutam ||
jātamātre sute tasmin vāg uvācāśarīriṇī ||
eṣa dharmabhṛtāṃ śreṣṭho bhaviṣyati na saṃśayaḥ ||
yudhiṣṭhira iti khyātaḥ pāṇḍoḥ prathamajaḥ sutaḥ ||
bhavitā prathito rājā triṣu lokeṣu viśrutaḥ ||
yaśasā tejasā caiva vṛttena ca samanvitaḥ ||
Vaishampayana said: "When Gandhari's womb had already been carried a year, O Janamejaya, Kunti called upon the imperishable god Dharma to father a child. That virtuous one swiftly offered a sacrificial gift to Dharma and duly recited the mantra once given to her by Durvasas. Uniting with Dharma, who had assumed a yogic form, the lovely-hipped one obtained a son, the best of all living beings. On a day ruled by Indra, under conjunction with the moon, in the eighth muhurta, Abhijit, when the sun stood at its zenith, on an auspicious tithi, Kunti, in due time, gave birth to a son full of glory; and the moment he was born, a bodiless voice spoke: 'This one will become the best of the upholders of dharma, there is no doubt — renowned as Yudhishthira, the firstborn son of Pandu; he will be a glorious king, famed in the three worlds, endowed with glory, splendor, and virtuous conduct.'"
5eeaf645ffb4 · published Jul 12, 2026, 4:41:49 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is born the first of the Pandavas — Yudhishthira, son of the god Dharma himself. It is telling that the conception is accomplished through the god's "yogic form": not carnal union but a wondrous, pure descent of divine power — this is why the Pandavas are called sons of the gods. Telling too is the name Yudhishthira ("steadfast in battle"), and the prophecy that he will be "the best of the upholders of dharma": born of Dharma, he will embody righteousness, and his truthfulness will become the axis of the whole epic. Here is providence at work: as lawlessness threatens the earth through the Kauravas, sons of the gods descend, and first among them comes personified dharma itself, to stand against unrighteousness. Thus scripture reveals the auspicious beginning of the Pandava line: at its head stands Righteousness itself, made flesh.