Mahabharata — Adi Parva, Shloka 10

Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 115 — Mādri’s request; invocation of the Aśvins; birth and naming of the Pāṇḍavas

Devanagari script

अप्रजा धारयामास ततस्तां दुःखमाविशत्‌ | श्रुत्वा कुन्तीसुतं जातं॑ बालार्कसमतेजसम्‌

Transliteration

aprajā dhārayāmāsa tatas tāṁ duḥkham āviśat | śrutvā kuntīsutaṁ jātaṁ bālārkasamatejasam |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Gandhārī remained without giving birth, continuing to carry the pregnancy; then sorrow seized her. When she heard that Kuntī’s son had been born—radiant like the morning sun—her distress deepened.

Word by Word

• अप्रजा: childless
• अप्रजा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अप्रजा (अ- + प्रजा)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• धारयामास: she bore/held (in the womb)
• धारयामास: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: धृ (धारणे)
• Form: Periphrastic Perfect (लिट्, आम्-प्रयोग), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• ततः: then/thereupon
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• ताम्: her
• ताम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• दुःखम्: sorrow
• दुःखम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• आविशत्: entered/overcame
• आविशत्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: विश् (प्रवेशने) उपसर्ग: आ-
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (श्रवणे)
• Form: Absolutive (क्त्वा), Active

• कुन्तीसुतम्: Kunti's son
• कुन्तीसुतम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुन्तीसुत
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• जातम्: born
• जातम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (जन्मनि)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• बालार्कसमतेजसम्: having brilliance equal to the morning sun
• बालार्कसमतेजसम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बालार्क-सम-तेजस्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Gandhārī
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Kuntī
• Kuntī’s son (newborn)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how attachment to lineage and status can turn another’s good fortune into one’s own suffering; it cautions against envy and shows how inner reactions, not events alone, generate distress.

What is happening in the narrative?

Gandhārī continues to carry her pregnancy without delivery; upon hearing that Kuntī has given birth to a son shining like the morning sun, Gandhārī is overwhelmed by grief and anxiety about her own prospects.