Shloka 231
पाण्डोः तपः-प्रसङ्गः, ऋण-धर्मः, अपत्य-प्राप्ति-चिन्ता
Pāṇḍu’s Asceticism, the Doctrine of Debts, and Deliberations on Progeny
दृष्टवा कुमारं जात॑ सा वार्ष्णेयी दीनमानसा । एकाग्रं चिन्तयामास कि कृत्वा सुकृतं भवेत्
dṛṣṭvā kumāraṃ jātā sā vārṣṇeyī dīnamānasā | ekāgraṃ cintayāmāsa kiṃ kṛtvā sukṛtaṃ bhavet ||
Als sie den neugeborenen Knaben erblickte, richtete die Frau Vārṣṇeyī—im Herzen von Kummer beschwert—ihren Geist in einspitziger Sammlung aus und erwog, was sie tun könne, damit daraus ein wahrhaft verdienstvolles Werk (sukṛta) entstehe.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even under distress, one should pause and reflect with a focused mind on what action will truly count as sukṛta (merit)—i.e., what aligns with dharma rather than impulse, fear, or self-interest.
The narrator says that a woman identified as Vārṣṇeyī sees a newborn boy and, feeling sorrowful, concentrates and deliberates about what she should do next so that her action becomes a genuinely virtuous deed.