Shloka 16
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 97: Satyavatī’s appeal and Bhīṣma’s reaffirmation of satya
न मानुषीणां जठरं प्रविशेम वयं शुभे । इत्युक्ता तैश्न वसुभिस्तथेत्युक्त्वाब्रवीदिदम्,'शुभे! हमें मानुषी स्त्रियोंके उदरमें प्रवेश न करना पड़े, इसीलिये हमने यह अनुरोध किया है।” वसुओंके ऐसा कहनेपर गंगाजी “तथास्तु” कहकर यों बोलीं
na mānuṣīṇāṃ jaṭharaṃ praviśema vayaṃ śubhe | ity uktā tais tu vasubhis tathety uktvābravīd idam ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana sprach: Die Vasus baten sie, sie als „O Glückverheißende“ anredend: „Mögen wir nicht in den Leib menschlicher Frauen eingehen müssen.“ Als die Vasus so sprachen, erwiderte Gaṅgā: „So sei es“, und fuhr fort zu reden.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even divine beings are bound by the moral law of actions and consequences; their plea to avoid human birth highlights the burden of embodied existence and the desire to mitigate suffering within the limits of dharma.
The Vasus, facing the prospect of being born among humans due to a curse, request Gaṅgā that they not have to enter human wombs; Gaṅgā agrees (“tathāstu”) and prepares to explain how this will be accomplished.