तयोः पाणिं गृहीत्वा स रूपयौवनदर्पितः ॥
विचित्रवीर्यो धर्मात्मा कामात्मा समपद्यत ॥
ते चापि बृहती श्यामे नीलकुञ्चितमूर्धजे ॥
रक्ततुङ्गनखोपेते पीनश्रोणिपयोधरे ॥
आत्मनः प्रतिरूपो ऽसौ लब्धः पतिर् इति स्थिते ॥
विचित्रवीर्यं कल्याणं पूजयाम् आसतुस् तु ते ॥
स चाश्विरूपसदृशो देवसत्त्वपराक्रमः ॥
सर्वासाम् एव नारीणां चित्तप्रमथनो ऽभवत् ॥
ताभ्यां सह समाः सप्त विहरन् पृथिवीपतिः ॥
विचित्रवीर्यस् तरुणो यक्ष्माणं समपद्यत ॥
सुहृदां यतमानानाम् आप्तैः सह चिकित्सकैः ॥
जगामास्तम् इवादित्यः कौरव्यो यमसादनम् ॥
प्रेतकार्याणि सर्वाणि तस्य सम्यग् अकारयत् ॥
राज्ञो विचित्रवीर्यस्य सत्यवत्या मते स्थितः ॥
ऋत्विग्भिः सहितो भीष्मः सर्वैश् च कुरुपुंगवैः ॥
tayoḥ pāṇiṃ gṛhītvā sa rūpayauvanadarpitaḥ ||
vicitravīryo dharmātmā kāmātmā samapadyata ||
te cāpi bṛhatī śyāme nīlakuñcitamūrdhaje ||
raktatuṅganakhopete pīnaśroṇipayodhare ||
ātmanaḥ pratirūpo 'sau labdhaḥ patir iti sthite ||
vicitravīryaṃ kalyāṇaṃ pūjayām āsatus tu te ||
sa cāśvirūpasadṛśo devasattvaparākramaḥ ||
sarvāsām eva nārīṇāṃ cittapramathano 'bhavat ||
tābhyāṃ saha samāḥ sapta viharan pṛthivīpatiḥ ||
vicitravīryas taruṇo yakṣmāṇaṃ samapadyata ||
suhṛdāṃ yatamānānām āptaiḥ saha cikitsakaiḥ ||
jagāmāstam ivādityaḥ kauravyo yamasādanam ||
pretakāryāṇi sarvāṇi tasya samyag akārayat ||
rājño vicitravīryasya satyavatyā mate sthitaḥ ||
ṛtvigbhiḥ sahito bhīṣmaḥ sarvaiś ca kurupuṃgavaiḥ ||
"Having taken both of them by the hand, that Vichitravirya, [once] righteous, grown proud of their beauty and youth, became given over to lust. And both of them were tall, dark-complexioned, with dark curling hair, with reddish high nails, with full hips and breasts. 'A husband worthy of us has been obtained' — so thinking, they honored the good Vichitravirya. And he, resembling the Ashvins in form, with the valor and strength of the gods, stirred the hearts of all women. Delighting with them for seven years, the lord of the earth, Vichitravirya, young, fell ill with consumption. Despite the efforts of friends together with skilled physicians, he, like the setting sun, that Kaurava departed to the abode of Yama. All the funeral rites of that king Vichitravirya were duly performed, holding to the will of Satyavati, by Bhishma together with the priests and all the bulls among the Kurus."
7ec6e70a8957 · publicado 12 jul 2026, 16:16:47 UTC
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Here Vichitravirya, given over to unrestrained pleasures, perishes young and childless. It is significant that the once "righteous" king, grown proud of his wives' beauty, "became given over to lust" and, through seven years of intemperance, wasted himself into consumption. Here is a stern warning against excess in sensual pleasure: what seems delight imperceptibly saps life; the slave of desire burns himself as a moth in flame. The body is a boat for crossing the ocean of birth and death, and one who ruins it for fleeting pleasures loses both the body and the purpose of life. Significant, too, is the comparison "like the setting sun": so radiant a king, resembling the Ashvins, fades in the flower of his youth — an image of how fragile bodily beauty and strength are when not subordinated to dharma. In this is a call to moderation and to the higher purpose: the senses are not given for servile indulgence but for service to the Lord; restraint prolongs and purifies life, indulgence destroys it. And bitterly significant: the king dies childless, and all of Bhishma's sacrifice, all his labor in winning the brides, seems to have come to nothing — the line of Kuru again stands on the brink of extinction. Thus providence leads to a new turn, where the continuation of the line will be accomplished by another, extraordinary path.