वैशंपायन उवाच
ततः पुत्रशतं जज्ञे गान्धार्यां जनमेजय ॥
धृतराष्ट्रस्य वैश्यायाम् एकश् चापि शतात् परः ॥
पाण्डोः कुन्त्यां च माद्र्यां च पञ्च पुत्रा महारथाः ॥
देवेभ्यः समपद्यन्त संतानाय कुलस्य वै ॥
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
tataḥ putraśataṃ jajñe gāndhāryāṃ janamejaya ||
dhṛtarāṣṭrasya vaiśyāyām ekaś cāpi śatāt paraḥ ||
pāṇḍoḥ kuntyāṃ ca mādryāṃ ca pañca putrā mahārathāḥ ||
devebhyaḥ samapadyanta saṃtānāya kulasya vai ||
Vaishampayana said: "Then a hundred sons were born to Gandhari, O Janamejaya, and one more to Dhritarashtra from a vaishya woman, beyond the hundred; and to Pandu, from Kunti and Madri, five sons, great warriors, who came from the gods themselves for the continuation of the line."
c46b21f432c3 · प्रकाशित 12 जुल॰ 2026, 4:30:26 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here two branches are briefly announced -- the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra and the five sons of Pandu -- whose confrontation will form the axis of the whole epic. Telling is the difference in their origin, which will unfold further: the Kauravas are born in an unprecedented way from a lump of flesh, while the Pandavas come from the gods themselves. Already in the opening a hint is given of a difference in nature: one line is bound to a dark, unnatural birth, the other to the divine. Thus scripture, before unfolding the details, sets before us the two sides of the coming drama, reminding us that both branches exist for "the continuation of the line," yet their destinies will part toward light and toward darkness.