Mahabharata 15.29.13 — Ashramavasika Parva, Adhyaya 29, Shloka 13
धृतराष्ट्रदर्शनाय पाण्डवानां प्रयाणम् | The Pāṇḍavas Prepare to Visit Dhṛtarāṣṭra
तमहं रक्षती विप्रं शापादनपकारिणम् | पुत्रो मे त्वत्समो देव भवेदिति ततो5ब्रवम्,तब मैं उन निरपराध ब्राह्मणको शापसे बचाती हुई बोली--'देव! मुझे आपके समान पुत्र प्राप्त हो।।
tam ahaṁ rakṣatī vipraṁ śāpād anapakāriṇam | putro me tvat-samo deva bhaved iti tato 'bravam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “While protecting that blameless brāhmaṇa from the curse, I then spoke: ‘O god, may I obtain a son equal to you.’”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma as active protection of the innocent (anapakāriṇam) from unjust harm (śāpa). It also suggests that requests for divine gifts arise within moral situations and can carry significant consequences beyond the immediate act.
The speaker (in Vaiśampāyana’s narration) describes protecting a blameless brāhmaṇa from a curse and, in that moment, asking a deity for a son equal to the god addressed.
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