शंतनुर् उवाच
श्रुत्वा तव वरं दाश व्यवस्येयम् अहं न वा ॥
दातव्यं चेत् प्रदास्यामि न त्व् अदेयं कथं चन ॥
दाश उवाच
अस्यां जायेत यः पुत्रः स राजा पृथिवीपतिः ॥
त्वद् ऊर्ध्वम् अभिषेक्तव्यो नान्यः कश् चन पार्थिव ॥
वैशंपायन उवाच
नाकामयत तं दातुं वरं दाशाय शंतनुः ॥
शरीरजेन तीव्रेण दह्यमानो ऽपि भारत ॥
स चिन्तयन्न् एव तदा दाशकन्यां महीपतिः ॥
प्रत्ययाद् धास्तिनपुरं शोकोपहतचेतनः ॥
śaṃtanur uvāca
śrutvā tava varaṃ dāśa vyavasyeyam ahaṃ na vā ||
dātavyaṃ cet pradāsyāmi na tv adeyaṃ kathaṃ cana ||
dāśa uvāca
asyāṃ jāyeta yaḥ putraḥ sa rājā pṛthivīpatiḥ ||
tvad ūrdhvam abhiṣektavyo nānyaḥ kaś cana pārthiva ||
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
nākāmayata taṃ dātuṃ varaṃ dāśāya śaṃtanuḥ ||
śarīrajena tīvreṇa dahyamāno 'pi bhārata ||
sa cintayann eva tadā dāśakanyāṃ mahīpatiḥ ||
pratyayād dhāstinapuraṃ śokopahatacetanaḥ ||
Shantanu said: "Having heard your condition, O fisherman, I will decide whether to accept it or not; if it is permissible to fulfill, I will fulfill it, but what is impermissible — never." The fisherman said: "The son who is born of her must, after you, be anointed king, lord of the earth, and none other, O king." Vaishampayana said: "Shantanu did not wish to grant the fisherman that condition, though he was consumed by fierce desire born of the body, O Bharata. Still thinking of the fisherman's daughter, the lord of the earth returned to Hastinapura, his mind stricken with grief."
177deb87b398 · प्रकाशित 12 जुल॰ 2026, 4:16:46 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here Shantanu's greatness is revealed in his refusal. Telling is the fisherman's condition — to give the kingdom to Satyavati's son, passing over Devavrata, the rightful heir. And telling is Shantanu's answer: "what is impermissible — never." Here is the triumph of dharma over kama: the king, consumed by burning desire, still will not consent to disinherit his worthy son; duty toward his firstborn proves dearer than passion. This is the very measure of the righteous: to give up what is desired when its fulfillment demands wrongdoing. His grief, too, is telling: he does not suppress his desire with feigned indifference but honestly suffers — and yet does not yield. Herein lies the truth of the struggle: virtue lies not in the absence of desire but in not letting desire carry one beyond dharma. Shantanu bears his suffering in silence, without sacrificing justice toward his son for its sake. Thus scripture shows a father's nobility preparing an even greater nobility in his son: Devavrata's sacrifice will be the answer to this self-denial of Shantanu's.