Mahabharata 3.126.16-24

Devanāgarī

ततस् ते प्रत्यबुध्यन्त ऋषयः सनराधिपाः ॥
निस्तोयं तं च कलशं ददृशुः सर्व एव ते ॥
कस्य कर्मेदम् इति च पर्यपृच्छन् समागताः ॥
युवनाश्वो मयेत्य् एव सत्यं समभिपद्यत ॥
न युक्तम् इति तं प्राह भगवान् भार्गवस् तदा ॥
सुतार्थं स्थापिता ह्य् आपस् तपसा चैव संभृताः ॥
मया ह्य् अत्राहितं ब्रह्म तप आस्थाय दारुणम् ॥
पुत्रार्थं तव राजर्षे महाबलपराक्रम ॥
महाबलो महावीर्यस् तपोबलसमन्वितः ॥
यः शक्रम् अपि वीर्येण गमयेद् यमसादनम् ॥
अनेन विधिना राजन् मयैतद् उपपादितम् ॥
अब्भक्षणं त्वया राजन्न् अयुक्तं कृतम् अद्य वै ॥
न त्व् अद्य शक्यम् अस्माभिर् एतत् कर्तुम् अतो ऽन्यथा ॥
नूनं दैवकृतं ह्य् एतद् यद् एवं कृतवान् असि ॥
पिपासितेन याः पीता विधिमन्त्रपुरस्कृताः ॥
आपस् त्वया महाराज मत्तपोवीर्यसंभृताः ॥
ताभ्यस् त्वम् आत्मना पुत्रम् एवंवीर्यं जनिष्यसि ॥
विधास्यामो वयं तत्र तवेष्टिं परमाद्भुताम् ॥
यथा शक्रसमं पुत्रं जनयिष्यसि वीर्यवान् ॥

Transliteration (IAST)

tatas te pratyabudhyanta ṛṣayaḥ sanarādhipāḥ ||
nistoyaṃ taṃ ca kalaśaṃ dadṛśuḥ sarva eva te ||
kasya karmedam iti ca paryapṛcchan samāgatāḥ ||
yuvanāśvo mayety eva satyaṃ samabhipadyata ||
na yuktam iti taṃ prāha bhagavān bhārgavas tadā ||
sutārthaṃ sthāpitā hy āpas tapasā caiva saṃbhṛtāḥ ||
mayā hy atrāhitaṃ brahma tapa āsthāya dāruṇam ||
putrārthaṃ tava rājarṣe mahābalaparākrama ||
mahābalo mahāvīryas tapobalasamanvitaḥ ||
yaḥ śakram api vīryeṇa gamayed yamasādanam ||
anena vidhinā rājan mayaitad upapāditam ||
abbhakṣaṇaṃ tvayā rājann ayuktaṃ kṛtam adya vai ||
na tv adya śakyam asmābhir etat kartum ato 'nyathā ||
nūnaṃ daivakṛtaṃ hy etad yad evaṃ kṛtavān asi ||
pipāsitena yāḥ pītā vidhimantrapuraskṛtāḥ ||
āpas tvayā mahārāja mattapovīryasaṃbhṛtāḥ ||
tābhyas tvam ātmanā putram evaṃvīryaṃ janiṣyasi ||
vidhāsyāmo vayaṃ tatra taveṣṭiṃ paramādbhutām ||
yathā śakrasamaṃ putraṃ janayiṣyasi vīryavān ||

Word-by-word

SanskritIASTMeaning

ततस् ते प्रत्यबुध्यन्त ऋषयः सनराधिपाः ॥ निस्तोयं तं च कलशं ददृशुः सर्व एव ते ॥ कस्य कर्मेदम् इति च पर्यपृच्छन् समागताः ॥ युवनाश्वो मयेत्य् एव सत्यं समभिपद्यत ॥ न युक्तम् इति तं प्राह भगवान् भार्गवस् तदा ॥ सुतार्थं स्थापिता ह्य् आपस् तपसा चैव संभृताः ॥ मया ह्य् अत्राहितं ब्रह्म तप आस्थाय दारुणम् ॥ पुत्रार्थं तव राजर्षे महाबलपराक्रम ॥ महाबलो महावीर्यस् तपोबलसमन्वितः ॥ यः शक्रम् अपि वीर्येण गमयेद् यमसादनम् ॥ अनेन विधिना राजन् मयैतद् उपपादितम् ॥ अब्भक्षणं त्वया राजन्न् अयुक्तं कृतम् अद्य वै ॥ न त्व् अद्य शक्यम् अस्माभिर् एतत् कर्तुम् अतो ऽन्यथा ॥ नूनं दैवकृतं ह्य् एतद् यद् एवं कृतवान् असि ॥ पिपासितेन याः पीता विधिमन्त्रपुरस्कृताः ॥ आपस् त्वया महाराज मत्तपोवीर्यसंभृताः ॥ ताभ्यस् त्वम् आत्मना पुत्रम् एवंवीर्यं जनिष्यसि ॥ विधास्यामो वयं तत्र तवेष्टिं परमाद्भुताम् ॥ यथा शक्रसमं पुत्रं जनयिष्यसि वीर्यवान् ॥tatas te pratyabudhyanta ṛṣayaḥ sanarādhipāḥ || nistoyaṃ taṃ ca kalaśaṃ dadṛśuḥ sarva eva te || kasya karmedam iti ca paryapṛcchan samāgatāḥ || yuvanāśvo mayety eva satyaṃ samabhipadyata || na yuktam iti taṃ prāha bhagavān bhārgavas tadā || sutārthaṃ sthāpitā hy āpas tapasā caiva saṃbhṛtāḥ || mayā hy atrāhitaṃ brahma tapa āsthāya dāruṇam || putrārthaṃ tava rājarṣe mahābalaparākrama || mahābalo mahāvīryas tapobalasamanvitaḥ || yaḥ śakram api vīryeṇa gamayed yamasādanam || anena vidhinā rājan mayaitad upapāditam || abbhakṣaṇaṃ tvayā rājann ayuktaṃ kṛtam adya vai || na tv adya śakyam asmābhir etat kartum ato 'nyathā || nūnaṃ daivakṛtaṃ hy etad yad evaṃ kṛtavān asi || pipāsitena yāḥ pītā vidhimantrapuraskṛtāḥ || āpas tvayā mahārāja mattapovīryasaṃbhṛtāḥ || tābhyas tvam ātmanā putram evaṃvīryaṃ janiṣyasi || vidhāsyāmo vayaṃ tatra taveṣṭiṃ paramādbhutām || yathā śakrasamaṃ putraṃ janayiṣyasi vīryavān ||The sages and the king awaken and see that the vessel is empty; all ask whose doing this is, and Yuvanashva truthfully says it is his; the blessed Bhargava says this is wrong, the water was set aside for a son and gathered by tapas; he had placed brahman and severe austerity there for the sake of a royal son of great strength, one who by his might could send even Shakra to the abode of Yama; such a rite had been arranged by him, so the king should not have drunk the water; now it cannot be done otherwise, evidently this was wrought by fate; the waters, sanctified by rite and mantras, were drunk by the king out of thirst, and so from them he himself will beget so mighty a son; the sages will arrange for him a wondrous ishti, so that he, the strong one, may beget a son equal to Shakra.

Translation

Then the sages together with the king awoke, and all saw that the vessel was empty. Gathering together, they began to ask: 'Whose doing is this?' And Yuvanashva truthfully admitted: 'Mine.' Then the blessed Bhargava said to him: 'This is not fitting. The water was set aside for the sake of a son and gathered by the power of tapas. I placed brahman here, undertaking severe austerity, for the sake of your son, royal sage, of great strength and prowess, one who by his might could send even Shakra to the abode of Yama. By this rite, king, I arranged this; but you today, king, wrongly drank the water. Now we cannot do this any other way. Surely this was wrought by fate, since you acted so. These waters, sanctified by rite and mantras, gathered by the power of my tapas, were drunk by you, great king, when you were thirsty. From them you yourself will beget a son of such power. We will arrange for you in this matter a supremely wondrous ishti, so that you, mighty one, may beget a son equal to Shakra.'

Commentary

The sage does not deny the mistake, but acknowledges a higher course of fate. Dharma here is not mechanical: once an act has already happened, wisdom seeks how to bring it to a good outcome.

Version

56c5d240caab · published Jul 16, 2026, 5:06:19 PM UTC

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