Shloka 10
Adhyāya 123 — Droṇa’s Pedagogy: Arjuna’s Preeminence, Ekalavya’s Self-Training, and the Bhāsa-Lakṣya Trial
धार्मिक त॑ सुतं लब्ध्वा पाण्डुस्तां पुनरब्रवीत्,उस धर्मात्मा पुत्रको पाकर राजा पाण्डुने पुनः (आग्रहपूर्वक) कुन्तीसे कहा --
dhārmikaṁ taṁ sutaṁ labdhvā pāṇḍus tāṁ punar abravīt | sa dharmātmā putrakaṁ prāpya rājā pāṇḍuḥ punaḥ (āgrahapūrvakaṁ) kuntīṁ uvāca ||
Having obtained that righteous son, King Pāṇḍu spoke to her again. That king, devoted to dharma, on receiving a child, once more addressed Kuntī—insistently—urging her further in the same course.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharma as the guiding motive in royal decisions: the king is described as dharmātmā, and the birth of a ‘dhārmika’ son is treated as an ethically significant outcome, reinforcing the ideal that lineage and governance should be aligned with righteousness.
After a righteous son has been obtained, Vaiśampāyana narrates that King Pāṇḍu speaks again to Kuntī—this time with insistence—indicating he is urging her to continue or repeat the means by which the son was obtained.