Shloka 15

नियोगप्रसङ्गः — The Niyoga Episode: Births of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Pāṇḍu, and Vidura

Devanagari script

द्यवे वै दर्शयामास तां गां गोवृषभेक्षण । आपीनां च सुदोग्ध्रीं च सुवालधिखुरां शुभाम्‌

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca |

Dyave vai darśayāmāsa tāṃ gāṃ govṛṣabhekṣaṇa |

Āpīnāṃ ca sudogdhrīṃ ca su-vāladhi-khurāṃ śubhām ||

Translation

বৈশম্পায়ন বললেন—হে গোর্ষভদৃষ্টিসম রাজা! সেই দেবী দ্যু নামক বসুকে সেই শুভ গাভী দেখালেন—যিনি সুপুষ্ট, উৎকৃষ্ট দোহনক্ষম, এবং সুন্দর লেজ ও খুরবিশিষ্ট।

Word by Word

• द्यवे: to Dya (the Vasu)
• द्यवे: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्यौ (वसु-नाम)
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• दर्शयामास: showed
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (दर्शन)
• Form: Periphrastic Perfect (लिट्-परस्मैपद, आम्-प्रयोग), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• ताम्: that (her/that one)
• ताम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• गाम्: cow
• गाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• गोवृषभेक्षण: O one whose eyes are like a bull (among cows)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो-वृषभ-ईक्षण
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• आपीनाम्: full-uddered, well-filled
• आपीनाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आपीन (स्तन-समृद्ध)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• सुदोग्ध्रीम्: a good milker (yielding much milk)
• सुदोग्ध्रीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सु-दोग्ध्री
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• सुवालधिखुराम्: having fine tail and hooves
• सुवालधिखुराम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु-वालधि-खुरा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• शुभाम्: auspicious, beautiful
• शुभाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Dyu (a Vasu)
• the goddess (devī)
• the cow (gā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how extraordinary gifts (here, a supremely auspicious cow) can become a test of self-control and dharma: admiration of beauty and utility should not slide into possessiveness or wrongdoing.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that a goddess shows Dyu a remarkable cow—well-nourished, auspicious, and an excellent milker—setting up the later development in which this cow’s exceptional qualities become central to the unfolding story.