Shloka 16

Āstravidyā-Pradarśana: The Kuru Princes’ Public Demonstration of Arms (आस्त्रविद्या-प्रदर्शनम्)

Devanagari script

ततो माद्री विचार्यव जगाम मनसाश्रिनौ । तावागम्य सुतौ तस्यां जनयामासतुर्यमौ,तब माद्रीने मन-ही-मन कुछ विचार करके दोनों अश्विनीकुमारोंका स्मरण किया। तब उन दोनोंने आकर माद्रीके गर्भसे दो जुड़वें पुत्र उत्पन्न किये

Transliteration

tato mādrī vicāryaiva jagāma manasāśvinau | tāv āgamya sutau tasyāṃ janayāmāsatur yamau ||

Translation

Dann dachte Mādrī in ihrem Innern nach und rief in Gedanken die beiden Aśvin-Zwillinge an. Auf ihr Gedenken hin kamen sie und ließen aus Mādrīs Schoß zwei Zwillingssöhne geboren werden.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

माद्रीMadri

विचार्यhaving reflected/considered

जगामwent (i.e., turned/advanced)

मनसाwith the mind, mentally

अश्रिनौthe two Ashvins (Ashvinikumara twins)

तौthose two

आगम्यhaving come/arrived

सुतौtwo sons

तस्याम्in her (in Madri)

जनयामासतुःthey caused to be born / begot

यमौthe twin pair (twins)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mādrī

Aśvinau (the Aśvin twins)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that purposeful reflection and sanctioned means (within dharma) can shape outcomes, especially regarding the responsibility of continuing a righteous lineage; mental resolve and proper invocation are portrayed as efficacious when aligned with accepted norms.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mādrī, desiring children, reflects and mentally calls upon the divine Aśvin twins; they respond and beget twin sons in her womb—an allusion to the birth of the twin Pāṇḍava brothers traditionally identified as Nakula and Sahadeva.