Shloka 11
पाण्डोः तपः-प्रसङ्गः, ऋण-धर्मः, अपत्य-प्राप्ति-चिन्ता
Pāṇḍu’s Asceticism, the Doctrine of Debts, and Deliberations on Progeny
(आहूतोपस्थितं भद्रे ऋषिमन्त्रेण चोदितम् । विद्धि मां पुत्रलाभाय देवमर्क शुचिस्मिते ।।) भदठे! मैं दुर्वासा ऋषिके दिये हुए मन्त्रसे प्रेरित हो तुम्हारे बुलाते ही तुम्हें पुत्रकी प्राप्ति करानेके लिये उपस्थित हुआ हूँ। पवित्र मुसकानवाली कुन्ती! तुम मुझे सूर्यदेव समझो।' कुन्त्युवाच वश्चिन्मे ब्राह्मण: प्रादाद् वरं विद्यां च शत्रुहन् तद्विजिज्ञासया55द्वानं कृतवत्यस्मि ते विभो,कुन्तीने कहा--शत्रुओंका नाश करनेवाले प्रभो! एक ब्राह्मणने मुझे वरदानके रूपमें देवताओंके आवाहनका मन्त्र प्रदान किया है। उसीकी परीक्षाके लिये मैंने आपका आवाहन किया था
vaiśampāyana uvāca | āhūtopasthitaṃ bhadre ṛṣimantreṇa coditam | viddhi māṃ putralābhāya devam arka śucismite ||
kunty uvāca | vaścin me brāhmaṇaḥ prādād varaṃ vidyāṃ ca śatruhan | tad-vijijñāsayāhvānaṃ kṛtavaty asmi te vibho ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O auspicious lady, summoned by you and impelled by the sage’s mantra, I have come before you to grant you a son. O Kuntī of pure smile, know me to be the god Arka (the Sun).” Kuntī said: “O lord who destroys foes, a brāhmaṇa once bestowed on me, as a boon, a sacred formula and the knowledge for invoking the gods. It was to test that power that I performed your invocation, O mighty one.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sacred power (mantra-vidyā) is ethically weighty: testing or using it casually can trigger irreversible consequences. The passage highlights responsibility in wielding spiritual boons and the seriousness of invoking divine forces.
After receiving a mantra that can summon gods, Kuntī invokes it to test its efficacy. The Sun-god (Arka/Sūrya) appears immediately, stating he has come to grant her a son, and Kuntī explains she called him only to verify the mantra’s power.