वैशंपायन उवाच
ततः सत्यवती दीना कृपणा पुत्रगृद्धिनी ॥
पुत्रस्य कृत्वा कार्याणि स्नुषाभ्यां सह भारत ॥
धर्मं च पितृवंशं च मातृवंशं च मानिनी ॥
प्रसमीक्ष्य महाभागा गाङ्गेयं वाक्यम् अब्रवीत् ॥
शंतनोर् धर्मनित्यस्य कौरव्यस्य यशस्विनः ॥
त्वयि पिण्डश् च कीर्तिश् च संतानं च प्रतिष्ठितम् ॥
यथा कर्म शुभं कृत्वा स्वर्गोपगमनं ध्रुवम् ॥
यथा चायुर् ध्रुवं सत्ये त्वयि धर्मस् तथा ध्रुवः ॥
वेत्थ धर्मांश् च धर्मज्ञ समासेनेतरेण च ॥
विविधास् त्वं श्रुतीर् वेत्थ वेत्थ वेदांश् च सर्वशः ॥
व्यवस्थानं च ते धर्मे कुलाचारं च लक्षये ॥
प्रतिपत्तिं च कृच्छ्रेषु शुक्राङ्गिरसयोर् इव ॥
तस्मात् सुभृशम् आश्वस्य त्वयि धर्मभृतां वर ॥
कार्ये त्वां विनियोक्ष्यामि तच् छ्रुत्वा कर्तुम् अर्हसि ॥
मम पुत्रस् तव भ्राता वीर्यवान् सुप्रियश् च ते ॥
बाल एव गतः स्वर्गम् अपुत्रः पुरुषर्षभ ॥
इमे महिष्यौ भ्रातुस् ते काशिराजसुते शुभे ॥
रूपयौवनसंपन्ने पुत्रकामे च भारत ॥
तयोर् उत्पादयापत्यं संतानाय कुलस्य नः ॥
मन्नियोगान् महाभाग धर्मं कर्तुम् इहार्हसि ॥
राज्ये चैवाभिषिच्यस्व भारतान् अनुशाधि च ॥
दारांश् च कुरु धर्मेण मा निमज्जीः पितामहान् ॥
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
tataḥ satyavatī dīnā kṛpaṇā putragṛddhinī ||
putrasya kṛtvā kāryāṇi snuṣābhyāṃ saha bhārata ||
dharmaṃ ca pitṛvaṃśaṃ ca mātṛvaṃśaṃ ca māninī ||
prasamīkṣya mahābhāgā gāṅgeyaṃ vākyam abravīt ||
śaṃtanor dharmanityasya kauravyasya yaśasvinaḥ ||
tvayi piṇḍaś ca kīrtiś ca saṃtānaṃ ca pratiṣṭhitam ||
yathā karma śubhaṃ kṛtvā svargopagamanaṃ dhruvam ||
yathā cāyur dhruvaṃ satye tvayi dharmas tathā dhruvaḥ ||
vettha dharmāṃś ca dharmajña samāsenetareṇa ca ||
vividhās tvaṃ śrutīr vettha vettha vedāṃś ca sarvaśaḥ ||
vyavasthānaṃ ca te dharme kulācāraṃ ca lakṣaye ||
pratipattiṃ ca kṛcchreṣu śukrāṅgirasayor iva ||
tasmāt subhṛśam āśvasya tvayi dharmabhṛtāṃ vara ||
kārye tvāṃ viniyokṣyāmi tac chrutvā kartum arhasi ||
mama putras tava bhrātā vīryavān supriyaś ca te ||
bāla eva gataḥ svargam aputraḥ puruṣarṣabha ||
ime mahiṣyau bhrātus te kāśirājasute śubhe ||
rūpayauvanasaṃpanne putrakāme ca bhārata ||
tayor utpādayāpatyaṃ saṃtānāya kulasya naḥ ||
manniyogān mahābhāga dharmaṃ kartum ihārhasi ||
rājye caivābhiṣicyasva bhāratān anuśādhi ca ||
dārāṃś ca kuru dharmeṇa mā nimajjīḥ pitāmahān ||
Vaishampayana said: 'Then Satyavati, grief-stricken, pitiable, longing for a son to continue the line, having performed the funeral rites for her son together with her daughters-in-law, O Bharata, and having weighed dharma, the father's lineage, and the mother's lineage, this honored and virtuous woman spoke to the son of Ganga: "Shantanu, ever faithful to dharma, the glorious Kaurava — on you rest the funeral offering, and fame, and the continuation of the lineage. As the attainment of heaven inevitably follows a good deed, as life abides in truth, so dharma is unfailingly established in you. You know the dharmas, O knower of dharma, both in brief and in detail; you know the various scriptures, you know the Vedas entirely. I see your steadfastness in dharma, your fidelity to the family custom, and your resourcefulness in difficulties — like that of Shukra and Angiras. Therefore, having placed my full trust in you, O best of the upholders of dharma, I shall entrust a task to you; having heard it, you must carry it out. My son, your brother, valiant and deeply beloved by you, departed for heaven while still young and without offspring, O bull among men. These two queens of your brother, the virtuous daughters of the king of Kashi, endowed with beauty and youth, longing for a son, O Bharata — beget offspring upon them for the continuation of our lineage; by my command, O virtuous one, you must fulfill this duty. Be anointed to the kingdom, rule the Bharatas, and take wives in accordance with dharma; do not let our ancestors sink."'
b43a1bfaac16 · प्रकाशित 12 जुल॰ 2026, 4:16:47 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here Satyavati, having lost her sons, in despair asks Bhishma to take the throne and beget offspring upon his brother's widows (the custom of niyoga). Her anxiety over the "sinking of the ancestors" is telling: in Vedic understanding, without offspring to offer the funeral pinda, the ancestors lose their support in the other worlds. What is at stake here is the duty owed to the ancestors (pitri-yajna), one of the debts a person can never fully repay; the continuation of the lineage was honored as a sacred obligation. Her praise of Bhishma is also telling: she recognizes him as a perfect knower of dharma and the Vedas, resourceful in difficulty like Shukra and Brihaspati — and therefore trusts that he will find a way out. But a drama unfolds here as well: a mother's grief and concern for the lineage drive Satyavati to ask Bhishma to break his greatest vow. Thus two dharmas collide — the duty owed to the family line and the sanctity of a given word — and in this collision the righteous man's steadfastness is put to the test. The scripture is preparing us to see that true dharma lies not in breaking a vow out of need, but in finding a path that preserves both the lineage and fidelity to truth.