Shloka 28
Adhyāya 125: Raṅga-pradarśana — Arjuna’s Entry and Astric Demonstration (रङ्गप्रदर्शनम्)
तस्मान्मे सुतयो: कुन्ति वर्तितव्यं स्वपुत्रवत् मां च कामयमानो<यं राजा प्रेतवशं गत:,अतः आप ही जीवित रहकर मेरे पुत्रोंका भी अपने पुत्रोंके समान ही पालन कीजियेगा। इसके सिवा ये महाराज मेरी ही कामना रखकर मृत्युके अधीन हुए हैं
tasmān me sutayoḥ kunti vartitavyaṃ svaputravat māṃ ca kāmayamāno 'yaṃ rājā pretavaśaṃ gataḥ | ataḥ tvam eva jīvitvā mama putrāṇām api svaputrāṇām iva pālanaṃ kariṣyasi | etad anyat—eṣa mahārājo mamaiva kāmanāṃ kṛtvā mṛtyuvaśaṃ gataḥ ||
Therefore, O Kuntī, you must treat my sons as you would your own. This king, desiring me, has gone under the power of death. Hence you must live on and nurture my sons too, just as your own children. Apart from this, know that this great king met death while holding only the wish for me—so his end is bound up with that desire.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes dharma as guardianship: one must protect and raise dependents (here, another woman’s sons) with the same care as one’s own, especially when death has created vulnerability and obligation.
A speaker addresses Kuntī, instructing her to survive and take responsibility for the speaker’s sons as if they were her own, explaining that the king has died (gone under death’s power) while harboring desire for the speaker, making Kuntī’s continued care a necessary moral response to the situation.