Shloka 42
Vasiṣṭhasya śokaḥ, Vipāśā–Śatadrū-nāmākaraṇam, Kalmāṣapādasya bhaya-prasaṅgaḥ (Ādi Parva 167)
हर्षाविष्टांस्ततश्वैतान् नेयं सेहे वसुंधरा । भयापहो राजपुत्र: पाउ्चालानां यशस्कर:
harṣāviṣṭāṁs tataś caitān neyaṁ sehe vasuṁdharā | bhayāpaho rājaputraḥ pāñcālānāṁ yaśaskaraḥ |
তখন আনন্দে অভিভূত সেই পাঞ্চালদের উল্লাসের ভার যেন এই বসুন্ধরা সহ্য করতে পারল না। সেই সময় ঘোষণা হল—“এই রাজপুত্র পাঞ্চালদের ভয় দূর করবে এবং তাদের যশ বৃদ্ধি করবে।”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a birth as morally and socially consequential: a ruler’s offspring is portrayed as arising to protect a community from fear, restore a king’s dignity, and fulfill a destined act in war. It highlights the epic’s tension between human agency and foretold outcomes, where public welfare (removing fear, increasing renown) is intertwined with violent necessity (the foretold killing of Droṇa).
A Brahmin narrator describes the Pāñcālas’ overwhelming joy at the appearance of a prince. The earth is poetically said to be unable to bear their jubilant weight, and an unseen voice from the sky prophesies the prince’s future: he will protect the Pāñcālas, enhance their fame, relieve Drupada’s grief, and be the instrument for Droṇācārya’s death.