वैशंपायन उवाच
तच् छ्रुत्वा तापसवचः पाण्डुश् चिन्तापरो ऽभवत् ॥
आत्मनो मृगशापेन जानन्न् उपहतां क्रियाम् ॥
सो ऽब्रवीद् विजने कुन्तीं धर्मपत्नीं यशस्विनीम् ॥
अपत्योत्पादने योगम् आपदि प्रसमर्थयन् ॥
अपत्यं नाम लोकेषु प्रतिष्ठा धर्मसंहिता ॥
इति कुन्ति विदुर् धीराः शाश्वतं धर्मम् आदितः ॥
इष्टं दत्तं तपस् तप्तं नियमश् च स्वनुष्ठितः ॥
सर्वम् एवानपत्यस्य न पावनम् इहोच्यते ॥
सो ऽहम् एवं विदित्वैतत् प्रपश्यामि शुचिस्मिते ॥
अनपत्यः शुभांल् लोकान् नावाप्स्यामीति चिन्तयन् ॥
मृगाभिशापान् नष्टं मे प्रजनं ह्य् अकृतात्मनः ॥
नृशंसकारिणो भीरु यथैवोपहतं तथा ॥
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
tac chrutvā tāpasavacaḥ pāṇḍuś cintāparo 'bhavat ||
ātmano mṛgaśāpena jānann upahatāṃ kriyām ||
so 'bravīd vijane kuntīṃ dharmapatnīṃ yaśasvinīm ||
apatyotpādane yogam āpadi prasamarthayan ||
apatyaṃ nāma lokeṣu pratiṣṭhā dharmasaṃhitā ||
iti kunti vidur dhīrāḥ śāśvataṃ dharmam āditaḥ ||
iṣṭaṃ dattaṃ tapas taptaṃ niyamaś ca svanuṣṭhitaḥ ||
sarvam evānapatyasya na pāvanam ihocyate ||
so 'ham evaṃ viditvaitat prapaśyāmi śucismite ||
anapatyaḥ śubhāṃl lokān nāvāpsyāmīti cintayan ||
mṛgābhiśāpān naṣṭaṃ me prajanaṃ hy akṛtātmanaḥ ||
nṛśaṃsakāriṇo bhīru yathaivopahataṃ tathā ||
"Having heard that word of the ascetics, Pandu became sunk in thought, knowing that the curse of the deer had destroyed his procreative power. He spoke, in private, to Kunti, his lawful and illustrious wife, urging upon her the means of obtaining offspring in a time of distress: 'Offspring in the worlds is a support in accord with dharma; thus, O Kunti, the wise have known the eternal dharma from the very beginning. Sacrifices offered, gifts given, austerity performed, and vows well observed — all of this, for the childless, is said to be without purifying power. And I, knowing this, foresee, O bright-smiling one, thinking: childless, I shall not attain the blessed worlds. By the curse of the deer my power to beget offspring has been destroyed — I, unrestrained, having committed cruelty, O timid one — just as that deer was struck down, so am I.'"
08437ef74fa0 · प्रकाशित 12 जुल॰ 2026, 4:41:49 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here Pandu reveals to Kunti his powerlessness and his need for another path to offspring. His humility is telling: he openly admits that his procreative power was destroyed by a curse incurred through his own cruelty — he does not conceal the misfortune or blame fate, but sees in it the fruit of his own deed. In this lies honesty and maturity: a husband does not hide his weakness from his wife or coerce her by deceit, but openly, in private, sets forth the situation. Also telling is the assertion that without offspring even sacrifices and austerities are fruitless — within the bounds of varnashrama this is true, since the debt to the ancestors remains unpaid. Thus the scripture prepares the delicate request for niyoga: it is offered not out of lust but as apad-dharma — the dharma of an extreme situation, when the ordinary path is closed; and it is offered honestly, with consent, within what scripture permits, as had already happened once in this very lineage.