Shloka 34
Adhyāya 123 — Droṇa’s Pedagogy: Arjuna’s Preeminence, Ekalavya’s Self-Training, and the Bhāsa-Lakṣya Trial
पुत्र जनय सुश्रोणि धाम क्षत्रियतेजसाम् | लब्ध: प्रसादो देवेन्द्रात् तमाह्य शुचिस्मिते,'सुश्रोणि! अब ऐसे पुत्रको जन्म दो, जो क्षत्रियोचित तेजका भंडार हो। पवित्र मुसकानवाली कुन्ती! मैंने देवेन्द्रकी कृपा प्राप्त कर ली है। अब तुम उन्हींका आवाहन करो'
putraṁ janaya suśroṇi dhāma kṣatriya-tejasām | labdhaḥ prasādo devendrāt tam āhya śuci-smite ||
Śakra (Indra) sprach: „O Frau mit schönen Hüften, gebäre einen Sohn, der eine wahre Heimstatt kṣatriyischer Tapferkeit sei. O Kuntī mit dem reinen Lächeln, ich habe die Gunst des Herrn der Götter erlangt; darum rufe ihn an.“
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames progeny not merely as biological succession but as a dharmic responsibility: the desired son should embody kṣatriya-tejas (royal courage, discipline, and protective power), and such an outcome is sought through divine grace and proper invocation rather than mere personal will.
Indra (Śakra) addresses Kuntī with affectionate epithets and urges her to beget a son of exceptional kṣatriya brilliance. He states that he has secured the necessary divine favor and instructs her to invoke Devendra—signaling the imminent divine begetting that will lead to the birth of a great hero.