वैशंपायन उवाच
कुन्तीपुत्रेषु जातेषु धृतराष्ट्रात्मजेषु च ॥
मद्रराजसुता पाण्डुं रहो वचनम् अब्रवीत् ॥
न मे ऽस्ति त्वयि संतापो विगुणे ऽपि परंतप ॥
नावरत्वे वरार्हायाः स्थित्वा चानघ नित्यदा ॥
गान्धार्याश् चैव नृपते जातं पुत्रशतं तथा ॥
श्रुत्वा न मे तथा दुःखम् अभवत् कुरुनन्दन ॥
इदं तु मे महद् दुःखं तुल्यतायाम् अपुत्रता ॥
दिष्ट्या त्व् इदानीं भर्तुर् मे कुन्त्याम् अप्य् अस्ति संततिः ॥
यदि त्व् अपत्यसंतानं कुन्तिराजसुता मयि ॥
कुर्याद् अनुग्रहो मे स्यात् तव चापि हितं भवेत् ॥
स्तम्भो हि मे सपत्नीत्वाद् वक्तुं कुन्तिसुतां प्रति ॥
यदि तु त्वं प्रसन्नो मे स्वयम् एनां प्रचोदय ॥
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
kuntīputreṣu jāteṣu dhṛtarāṣṭrātmajeṣu ca ||
madrarājasutā pāṇḍuṃ raho vacanam abravīt ||
na me 'sti tvayi saṃtāpo viguṇe 'pi paraṃtapa ||
nāvaratve varārhāyāḥ sthitvā cānagha nityadā ||
gāndhāryāś caiva nṛpate jātaṃ putraśataṃ tathā ||
śrutvā na me tathā duḥkham abhavat kurunandana ||
idaṃ tu me mahad duḥkhaṃ tulyatāyām aputratā ||
diṣṭyā tv idānīṃ bhartur me kuntyām apy asti saṃtatiḥ ||
yadi tv apatyasaṃtānaṃ kuntirājasutā mayi ||
kuryād anugraho me syāt tava cāpi hitaṃ bhavet ||
stambho hi me sapatnītvād vaktuṃ kuntisutāṃ prati ||
yadi tu tvaṃ prasanno me svayam enāṃ pracodaya ||
Vaishampayana said: "When the sons of Kunti and the sons of Dhritarashtra were born, the daughter of the king of Madra said to Pandu in private: 'I bear no resentment toward you, even for your affliction, O scourge of foes, nor though I, deserving better, am always placed lower. And when a hundred sons were born to Gandhari, I felt no such grief, O joy of the Kurus. But this is my great sorrow: though equal to Kunti, I am childless; by good fortune, though, my husband now has offspring at least through Kunti. If the daughter of King Kuntibhoja would grant me too a continuation of offspring, it would be a kindness to me, and a blessing to you. But because of my position as a rival wife I am constrained from speaking to her; if you are pleased with me, urge her yourself.'"
9a968d3328a0 · published Jul 12, 2026, 4:41:49 PM UTC
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Here Madri opens her heart to her husband with touching humility. It is telling that her greater sorrow is not over her lower standing before Kunti, nor over Gandhari's hundred sons, but over her own childlessness: the longing to give the line an heir outweighs jealousy and pride. Here lies the purity of her aspiration -- not self-serving, but for the sake of the family and her husband. Telling, too, is her tact: because of her position as a rival wife (sapatnitva), she dares not ask Kunti directly, so as not to compromise her dignity, and turns instead to her husband. Thus the scripture reveals Madri's nobility: in both her longing and her humility she keeps to measure, neither abasing herself nor envying, but gently asking for a kindness.