Shloka 27
Pāṇḍu’s Marriages, Conquests, and Triumphal Return (पाण्डोर्विवाह-विजय-प्रत्यागमनम्)
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--कुरुनन्दन! उस समय भीष्मजीके इस प्रकार अपनी सम्मति देनेपर काली (सत्यवती)-ने मुनिवर कृष्णद्वैपायनका चिन्तन किया। जनमेजय! माताने मेरा स्मरण किया है
tām addhiḥ pariṣicyārtāṃ maharṣir abhivādya ca | mātaraṃ pūrvajaḥ putro vyāso vacanam abravīt ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O delight of the Kurus! Even then, when Bhīṣma had given his assent in this manner, Kālī (Satyavatī) turned her thought to the great sage Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana. O Janamejaya, knowing, ‘My mother has remembered me,’ the supremely wise Vyāsa—while reciting the Vedic mantras—appeared there in a moment; none could tell when or from where he had come. Satyavatī received her son with due honor, embraced him with both arms, and anointed him with the milk that flowed from her breasts. Seeing her son after a long time, tears of love and joy streamed from her eyes. Then the great seer Vyāsa—Satyavatī’s firstborn—sprinkled his distressed mother with the pure water from his kamaṇḍalu, bowed to her in reverence, and spoke as follows—”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma through filial reverence: even a great sage serves and honors his mother first—purifying, bowing, and speaking with humility—showing that spiritual stature does not replace basic duties of compassion and respect.
After being remembered by Satyavatī, Vyāsa appears. In this verse he performs a small rite of care—sprinkling his distressed mother with sacred water from his kamaṇḍalu, saluting her, and then beginning to speak.