Shloka 2
Adhyāya 123 — Droṇa’s Pedagogy: Arjuna’s Preeminence, Ekalavya’s Self-Training, and the Bhāsa-Lakṣya Trial
सा बलिं त्वरिता देवी धर्मायोपजहार ह । जजाप विधिवज्जप्यं दत्तं दुर्वाससा पुरा,देवी कुन्तीने बड़ी उतावलीके साथ धर्मदेवताके लिये पूजाके उपहार अर्पित किये। तत्पश्चात् पूर्वकालमें महर्षि दुर्वासाने जो मन्त्र दिया था, उसका विधिपूर्वक जप किया
sā baliṁ tvaritā devī dharmāyopajahāra ha | jajāpa vidhivajjapyaṁ dattaṁ durvāsasā purā ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: Die göttergleiche Kuntī brachte in eiliger Hast Dharma das bali dar, die rituelle Opfergabe. Danach rezitierte sie, dem Ritus gemäß und nach rechter Vorschrift, das Anrufungsmantra, das ihr einst der Weise Durvāsas verliehen hatte.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes acting within dharma through proper intention and proper procedure: Kuntī first performs the appropriate offering to Dharma and then recites the mantra in a ritually correct manner, showing that power (mantra) is to be approached through discipline and righteousness.
Kuntī, described honorifically as devī, quickly makes a bali-offering to the deity Dharma and then performs japa of the special mantra previously given to her by the sage Durvāsas, initiating a divine invocation central to the ensuing events.