Shloka 15
Satyavatī’s Disclosure and the Summoning of Vyāsa
Niyoga for Kuru Succession
अथैनामष्ट मे पुत्रे जाते प्रहसतीमिव । उवाच राजा दु:खार्त: परीप्सन् पुत्रमात्मन:,तदनन्तर जब आठवाँ पुत्र उत्पन्न हुआ, तब हँसती हुई-सी अपनी स्त्रीसे राजाने अपने पुत्रका प्राण बचानेकी इच्छासे दुःखातुर होकर कहा--
athainām aṣṭame putre jāte prahasatīm iva | uvāca rājā duḥkhārtaḥ parīpsan putram ātmanaḥ ||
তাৰ পাছত অষ্টম পুত্ৰ জন্ম হোৱাত তাই যেন হাঁহি থকা দৰে দেখা গ’ল। ৰজা শোকে ব্যাকুল হৈ, নিজৰ পুত্ৰৰ প্ৰাণ ৰক্ষা কৰিব বিচাৰি, পত্নীৰ সৈতে কথা ক’লে।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral conflict: fidelity to an earlier promise versus the immediate ethical impulse to protect innocent life. It frames dharma not as a simple rule but as a lived tension between duty, compassion, and consequence.
After the birth of the eighth son, the wife appears to smile, and the king—already pained by prior losses—speaks up, hoping to save this child. This moment sets up the revelation of the wife’s actions and the turning point that preserves the eighth son.