Shloka 6
Adhyāya 123 — Droṇa’s Pedagogy: Arjuna’s Preeminence, Ekalavya’s Self-Training, and the Bhāsa-Lakṣya Trial
ऐन्द्रे चन्द्रसमायुक्ते मुहूर्तेडभिजितेडष्टमे । दिवामध्यगते सूर्य तिथौ पूर्णेडतिपूजिते
aīndre candrasamāyukte muhūrte ’bhijiti ’ṣṭame | divāmadhyagate sūrye tithau pūrṇe ’tipūjite ||
Vaiśampāyana said: At a highly auspicious time—when the Moon was in the Indra-related asterism, when the eighth muhūrta called Abhijit was prevailing, when the Sun stood at midday, and when the revered tithi was in force—Kuntī Devī gave birth to an excellent son, greatly illustrious. As soon as the child was born, a heavenly voice was heard—
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the epic motif that major figures arise under marked auspicious signs, suggesting a moral universe where destiny and divine sanction frame human life; it prepares the listener to treat the newborn’s future role as significant and ethically consequential.
Vaiśampāyana describes the precise auspicious calendrical conditions at the time Kuntī gives birth to an illustrious son, and notes that immediately upon the birth a divine voice (ākāśavāṇī) is heard, foreshadowing the child’s importance.