Shloka 15
अथैनामष्ट मे पुत्रे जाते प्रहसतीमिव । उवाच राजा दु:खार्त: परीप्सन् पुत्रमात्मन:,तदनन्तर जब आठवाँ पुत्र उत्पन्न हुआ, तब हँसती हुई-सी अपनी स्त्रीसे राजाने अपने पुत्रका प्राण बचानेकी इच्छासे दुःखातुर होकर कहा--
athainām aṣṭame putre jāte prahasatīm iva | uvāca rājā duḥkhārtaḥ parīpsan putram ātmanaḥ ||
Then, when her eighth son was born, she appeared as though smiling. The king, stricken with grief yet intent on saving his own child’s life, spoke to his wife—seeking to prevent what he feared would happen next.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral conflict: fidelity to an earlier promise versus the immediate ethical impulse to protect innocent life. It frames dharma not as a simple rule but as a lived tension between duty, compassion, and consequence.
After the birth of the eighth son, the wife appears to smile, and the king—already pained by prior losses—speaks up, hoping to save this child. This moment sets up the revelation of the wife’s actions and the turning point that preserves the eighth son.