Shloka 2
Pāṇḍu’s Marriages, Conquests, and Triumphal Return (पाण्डोर्विवाह-विजय-प्रत्यागमनम्)
ब्राह्मणो गुणवान् कश्चिद् धनेनोपनिमन्त्रयताम् । विचित्रवीर्यक्षेत्रेषु यः समुत्पादयेत् प्रजा:
brāhmaṇo guṇavān kaścid dhanena upanimantrayātām | vicitravīryakṣetreṣu yaḥ samutpādayet prajāḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “Mother, invite—by gifts of wealth—some virtuous brāhmaṇa who can beget offspring in the wives of Vicitravīrya, so that progeny may arise.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dynastic preservation as a duty (kula-dharma) and points to a socially sanctioned remedy—inviting a qualified, virtuous brāhmaṇa to beget heirs in the deceased king’s lineage-field—emphasizing legitimacy through dharmic procedure rather than personal desire.
Bhīṣma advises the queen-mother on how to secure heirs for Vicitravīrya’s line. He proposes summoning a capable brāhmaṇa, with due honor and gifts, to father children through Vicitravīrya’s wives so the royal succession and the Bharata lineage do not fail.