Shloka 26
आदि पर्व — अध्याय १०६
Pāṇḍu’s Gifts, Forest Residence, and Vidura’s Marriage
कामोपभोगेन रहस्तस्यां तुष्टिमगादृषि: । तया सहोषितो राजन् महर्षि: संशितव्रत:,एकान्तमें मिलकर उसपर महर्षि व्यास बहुत संतुष्ट हुए। राजन्! कठोर व्रतका पालन करनेवाले महर्षि जब उसके साथ शयन करके उठे, तब इस प्रकार बोले--'शुभे! अब तू दासी नहीं रहेगी। तेरे उदरमें एक अत्यन्त श्रेष्ठ बालक आया है। वह लोकमें धर्मात्मा तथा समस्त बुद्धिमानोंमें श्रेष्ठ होगा"
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: kāmopabhogena rahas tasyāṃ tuṣṭim agād ṛṣiḥ | tayā sahoṣito rājan maharṣiḥ saṃśitavrataḥ | ekāntam evaṃ militvā tasyāṃ maharṣi-vyāsaḥ su-tuṣṭo 'bhavat | rājan! kaṭhora-vrata-pālakaḥ sa maharṣiḥ tayā saha śayitvā utthitaḥ san evam uvāca— “śubhe! adya tvam dāsī na bhaviṣyasi. tava udare 'tyanta-śreṣṭhaḥ bālakaḥ praviṣṭaḥ. sa loke dharmātmā sarva-buddhimatāṃ ca śreṣṭhaḥ bhaviṣyati.”
Vaiśampāyana said: The sage, having enjoyed secret union with her, became satisfied. O King, the great seer of firm vows, after dwelling with her and rising from sleep, spoke thus: “Auspicious one, you shall no longer be a slave. In your womb has entered an exceedingly excellent child. In the world he will be righteous-souled and the foremost among all the wise.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links personal conduct and destiny: a child is foretold to be dharmātmā and foremost among the wise, while the woman is released from the stigma of slavery—suggesting that virtue, wisdom, and social dignity are upheld as higher values than mere birth-status.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Vyāsa privately united with a woman and, afterward, declared her no longer a slave and prophesied that she had conceived an exceptional son who would be righteous and supremely wise.