Shloka 14
धृतराष्ट्र–दुर्योधन संवादः
Vāraṇāvata-vivāsana-nīti: Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana’s Policy Dialogue
तस्याथ मिथुन जज्ञे गौतमस्य शरद्वत: । मृगयां चरतो राज्ञ: शन्तनोस्तु यदृच्छया
tasya atha mithunaṁ jajñe gautamasya śaradvatāḥ | mṛgayāṁ carato rājñaḥ śantanostu yadṛcchayā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: From Śaradvat, the son of Gautama, twins were born—one son and one daughter. By chance, King Śantanu was roaming on a hunt in the forest. His men noticed the two children; seeing a bow with arrows and a black antelope-skin, they inferred that the pair must be the offspring of a Brahmin highly skilled in archery. When the children were shown to the king, compassion overcame him, and he brought them home. When questioned, he introduced them simply as his own children.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a king’s dharma expressed as compassionate protection: Śantanu responds to vulnerable children not with suspicion but with care, taking responsibility for their welfare. It also suggests that signs of discipline and learning (bow, arrows, antelope-skin) indicate a cultured lineage, and that chance events (yadṛcchayā) can become vehicles for dharmic action.
Śaradvat, of Gautama’s lineage, has twins. During a hunt, King Śantanu’s party encounters the children in the forest and, noticing their martial-Brahmin markers (bow, arrows, black antelope-skin), concludes they are born of a learned Brahmin adept in archery. Śantanu, moved by compassion, brings them to his home and presents them as his own.