माद्र्य् उवाच
अहम् एवानुयास्यामि भर्तारम् अपलायिनम् ॥
न हि तृप्तास्मि कामानां तज् ज्येष्ठा अनुमन्यताम् ॥
मां चाभिगम्य क्षीणो ऽयं कामाद् भरतसत्तमः ॥
तम् उच्छिन्द्याम् अस्य कामं कथं नु यमसादने ॥
न चाप्य् अहं वर्तयन्ती निर्विशेषं सुतेषु ते ॥
वृत्तिम् आर्ये चरिष्यामि स्पृशेद् एनस् तथा हि माम् ॥
तस्मान् मे सुतयोः कुन्ति वर्तितव्यं स्वपुत्रवत् ॥
मां हि कामयमानो ऽयं राजा प्रेतवशं गतः ॥
राज्ञः शरीरेण सह ममापीदं कलेवरम् ॥
दग्धव्यं सुप्रतिच्छन्नम् एतद् आर्ये प्रियं कुरु ॥
दारकेष्व् अप्रमत्ता च भवेथाश् च हिता मम ॥
अतो ऽन्यन् न प्रपश्यामि संदेष्टव्यं हि किं चन ॥
वैशंपायन उवाच
इत्य् उक्त्वा तं चिताग्निस्थं धर्मपत्नी नरर्षभम् ॥
मद्रराजात्मजा तूर्णम् अन्वारोहद् यशस्विनी ॥
mādry uvāca
aham evānuyāsyāmi bhartāram apalāyinam ||
na hi tṛptāsmi kāmānāṃ taj jyeṣṭhā anumanyatām ||
māṃ cābhigamya kṣīṇo 'yaṃ kāmād bharatasattamaḥ ||
tam ucchindyām asya kāmaṃ kathaṃ nu yamasādane ||
na cāpy ahaṃ vartayantī nirviśeṣaṃ suteṣu te ||
vṛttim ārye cariṣyāmi spṛśed enas tathā hi mām ||
tasmān me sutayoḥ kunti vartitavyaṃ svaputravat ||
māṃ hi kāmayamāno 'yaṃ rājā pretavaśaṃ gataḥ ||
rājñaḥ śarīreṇa saha mamāpīdaṃ kalevaram ||
dagdhavyaṃ supraticchannam etad ārye priyaṃ kuru ||
dārakeṣv apramattā ca bhavethāś ca hitā mama ||
ato 'nyan na prapaśyāmi saṃdeṣṭavyaṃ hi kiṃ cana ||
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
ity uktvā taṃ citāgnisthaṃ dharmapatnī nararṣabham ||
madrarājātmajā tūrṇam anvārohad yaśasvinī ||
Madri said: "I myself will follow my husband, who did not flee the field of death; for I am not sated with desires -- let the elder sister grant me that. Having come to me, this best of the Bharatas perished from passion; how then could I leave his passion unsatisfied in the abode of Yama? Nor could I, treating your sons without distinction, conduct myself impartially, O worthy one -- otherwise sin would touch me. Therefore, Kunti, you must care for my two sons as your own; for, desiring me, this king passed into the power of the departed. Together with the king's body let this body of mine too be burned, well covered; do this for me, O worthy one, as a kindness. And be ever watchful over the children, and gracious toward me. Beyond this I see nothing more to entrust to you." Vaishampayana said: "Having said this, the daughter of the king of Madra, glorious, swiftly ascended after him -- that bull among men, set upon the fire of the pyre -- as his lawful wife."
eae845522538 · प्रकाशित 12 जुल॰ 2026, 4:41:49 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here Madri prevails in the sorrowful dispute and performs her final act of devotion. Her reasoning is telling: the king perished having come to her, and so it falls to her to follow him; and, more importantly, she confesses that she could not have loved Kunti's sons with true impartiality, as her own -- and a partial mother would be unrighteous. Here is a rare self-knowledge and honesty: Madri gives up her sons to Kunti not out of weakness but knowing that Kunti will raise all five equally, without distinction -- for the good of her sons she sacrifices both her life and her motherhood. It is significant that Kunti will indeed become a single mother to all five: Madri's sacrifice will become the very thing that unites the Pandavas. Thus scripture crowns the tragedy of Pandu's death with the devotion of a faithful wife; and though the custom of sati belongs to that age, its spirit -- love overcoming death, and care for the children's welfare placed above oneself -- remains a lesson in self-surrender. With the death of Pandu and Madri the forest years of the Pandavas come to an end; orphaned, they will now be led from here to Hastinapura, into the thick of the drama to come.