Shloka 160
आदि पर्व, अध्याय 67 — गान्धर्वविवाह-समयः
Duḥṣanta–Śakuntalā: Gandharva Marriage and Succession Condition
सिद्धिर्धतिश्व ये देव्यौ पज्चानां मातरौ तु ते । कुन्ती माद्री च जज्ञाते मतिस्तु सुबलात्मजा,सिद्धि और धृति नामवाली जो दो देवियाँ हैं, वे ही पाँचों पाण्डवोंकी दोनों माताओं-- कुन्ती और माद्रीके रूपमें उत्पन्न हुई थीं। सुबल-नरेशकी पुत्री गान्धारीके रूपमें साक्षात् मतिदेवी ही प्रकट हुई थीं
siddhir dhṛtiś ca ye devyau pañcānāṁ mātarau tu te | kuntī mādrī ca jajñāte matis tu subalātmajā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: The two goddesses named Siddhi and Dhṛti were born on earth as the two mothers of the five Pāṇḍavas—Kuntī and Mādrī. And the goddess Mati herself manifested as Gāndhārī, the daughter of King Subala. Thus the epic casts the chief mothers of the Kuru–Pāṇḍava line as embodiments of divine qualities—accomplishment, steadfastness, and discerning intelligence—hinting that the moral and inward forces shaping the coming conflict spring from sacred origins.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents key maternal figures as embodiments of divine virtues—Siddhi (accomplishment), Dhṛti (steadfastness), and Mati (intelligence). Ethically, it suggests that human history and moral struggle are shaped by inner qualities; the epic’s great outcomes depend not only on power but on the virtues and dispositions that give rise to action and counsel.
Vaiśampāyana explains a genealogical-cosmic detail: the goddesses Siddhi and Dhṛti took birth as Kuntī and Mādrī, the mothers of the five Pāṇḍavas, and the goddess Mati took birth as Gāndhārī, daughter of Subala. This situates the Kuru–Pāṇḍava family story within a divine framework.