तम् आसनगतं माता पृष्ट्वा कुशलम् अव्ययम् ॥
सत्यवत्य् अभिवीक्ष्यैनम् उवाचेदम् अनन्तरम् ॥
मातापित्रोः प्रजायन्ते पुत्राः साधारणाः कवे ॥
तेषां पिता यथा स्वामी तथा माता न संशयः ॥
विधातृविहितः स त्वं यथा मे प्रथमः सुतः ॥
विचित्रवीर्यो ब्रह्मर्षे तथा मे ऽवरजः सुतः ॥
यथैव पितृतो भीष्मस् तथा त्वम् अपि मातृतः ॥
भ्राता विचित्रवीर्यस्य यथा वा पुत्र मन्यसे ॥
अयं शांतनवः सत्यं पालयन् सत्यविक्रमः ॥
बुद्धिं न कुरुते ऽपत्ये तथा राज्यानुशासने ॥
स त्वं व्यपेक्षया भ्रातुः संतानाय कुलस्य च ॥
भीष्मस्य चास्य वचनान् नियोगाच् च ममानघ ॥
अनुक्रोशाच् च भूतानां सर्वेषां रक्षणाय च ॥
आनृशंस्येन यद् ब्रूयां तच् छ्रुत्वा कर्तुम् अर्हसि ॥
यवीयसस् तव भ्रातुर् भार्ये सुरसुतोपमे ॥
रूपयौवनसंपन्ने पुत्रकामे च धर्मतः ॥
तयोर् उत्पादयापत्यं समर्थो ह्य् असि पुत्रक ॥
अनुरूपं कुलस्यास्य संतत्याः प्रसवस्य च ॥
tam āsanagataṃ mātā pṛṣṭvā kuśalam avyayam ||
satyavaty abhivīkṣyainam uvācedam anantaram ||
mātāpitroḥ prajāyante putrāḥ sādhāraṇāḥ kave ||
teṣāṃ pitā yathā svāmī tathā mātā na saṃśayaḥ ||
vidhātṛvihitaḥ sa tvaṃ yathā me prathamaḥ sutaḥ ||
vicitravīryo brahmarṣe tathā me 'varajaḥ sutaḥ ||
yathaiva pitṛto bhīṣmas tathā tvam api mātṛtaḥ ||
bhrātā vicitravīryasya yathā vā putra manyase ||
ayaṃ śāṃtanavaḥ satyaṃ pālayan satyavikramaḥ ||
buddhiṃ na kurute 'patye tathā rājyānuśāsane ||
sa tvaṃ vyapekṣayā bhrātuḥ saṃtānāya kulasya ca ||
bhīṣmasya cāsya vacanān niyogāc ca mamānagha ||
anukrośāc ca bhūtānāṃ sarveṣāṃ rakṣaṇāya ca ||
ānṛśaṃsyena yad brūyāṃ tac chrutvā kartum arhasi ||
yavīyasas tava bhrātur bhārye surasutopame ||
rūpayauvanasaṃpanne putrakāme ca dharmataḥ ||
tayor utpādayāpatyaṃ samartho hy asi putraka ||
anurūpaṃ kulasyāsya saṃtatyāḥ prasavasya ca ||
His mother, having asked him, seated there, about his unfailing well-being, Satyavati looked at him and then said: 'Sons are born from mother and father, belonging to both, O sage; as the father is their lord, so too is the mother, without doubt. By the ordinance of the Creator, you are my first son, and Vichitravirya, O brahmarishi, is my younger son. As on the father's side Bhishma is Vichitravirya's brother, so too you, on the mother's side, are his brother — or judge as you yourself think fit, O son. This son of Shantanu, keeping to the truth, whose valor is truth itself, gives no thought to offspring or to ruling the kingdom. Therefore you, out of concern for your brother, for the continuation of the lineage, by the word of this Bhishma, and by my command, O sinless one, and out of compassion for all beings and for the protection of all — hear what I shall say out of mercy, and fulfill it. The two wives of your younger brother, like daughters of the gods, endowed with beauty and youth, rightfully longing for a son — beget offspring upon them, for you are capable, O son, of begetting offspring worthy of this lineage, of its continuation and of its progeny.'
6b78e976de8b · प्रकाशित 12 जुल॰ 2026, 4:16:47 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here Satyavati asks Vyasa for the niyoga, grounding her request in duty and compassion. It is telling that she appeals not to passion but to the highest motives: 'out of concern for your brother, for the continuation of the lineage, out of compassion for all beings, for the protection of all.' This shows that the niyoga is conceived as an act of dharma and mercy, not of pleasure: the continuation of a righteous lineage is a good for the whole kingdom and its subjects, for protection and order depend on the king. Telling too is the mother's right to command: she reminds him that the mother, equally with the father, is sovereign over her son, and therefore has the right to call him to his duty. Here too are the limits of obedience: the mother commands not out of whim but for the sake of dharma, and so the son must heed her. It is also telling that the request is grounded on every side — by Bhishma's word, by the mother's command, by the good of the lineage, by the protection of beings: a matter of such gravity is settled not by willfulness but by the consent of elders and consideration of the common good. Thus scripture shows that even an extraordinary measure is permitted when it is moved not by passion but by compassion and duty, and is sanctified by the consent of the righteous.