Shloka 23

धृतराष्ट्रदर्शनाय पाण्डवानां प्रयाणम् | The Pāṇḍavas Prepare to Visit Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Devanagari script

अपराधकश्ष ते नास्ति कन्याभावं॑ गता हाूसि । देवाश्नैश्वर्यवन्तो वै शरीराण्याविशन्ति वै

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | aparādhakaś ca te nāsti kanyābhāvaṃ gatā hy asi | devā aiśvaryavanto vai śarīrāṇy āviśanti vai | manuṣyadharmo daivena dharmeṇa hi na duṣyati | iti kunti vijānīhi vyetu te mānaso jvaraḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “You are not at fault, for you had attained maidenhood. The gods, endowed with sovereign power, can indeed enter into bodies. Human duty is not tainted by divine law. Know this, Kuntī—let the fever of your mind, your anxious torment, be dispelled.”

Word by Word

• {'vaiśampāyana uvāca': 'Vaiśampāyana said', 'aparādhakaḥ': 'one at fault

• offender', 'te': 'of you

• to you', 'nāsti': 'is not', 'kanyābhāvam': 'the state of maidenhood

• virgin condition', 'gatā': 'having reached

• having attained', 'asi': 'you are', 'devāḥ': 'the gods', 'aiśvaryavantaḥ': 'possessed of lordly power

• sovereign, mighty', 'śarīrāṇi': 'bodies', 'āviśanti': 'enter

• pervade', 'manuṣyadharmaḥ': 'human duty

• the moral law governing humans', 'daivena dharmeṇa': 'by divine law/ordinance

• by the gods’ dharma', 'na duṣyati': 'is not corrupted

• is not defiled', 'iti': 'thus', 'kunti': 'O Kuntī', 'vijānīhi': 'know

• understand', 'vyetu': 'let it depart

• let it be removed', 'mānasaḥ': 'mental

• of the mind', 'jvaraḥ': 'fever

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Kuntī
• Devas (the gods)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that Kuntī bears no moral blame: when divine agency operates (the gods entering bodies), human dharma is not ‘polluted’ by the gods’ dharma. It reframes her anxiety as misplaced guilt and urges inner release.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Āśramavāsika context, Kuntī is being reassured about her past—specifically, that circumstances involving divine intervention do not make her culpable. The speaker instructs her to understand this and let her mental anguish subside.