Shloka 2
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 65 — Duḥśāsana’s Elephant Corps Engages Arjuna; Retreat to the Śakaṭa-vyūha
तस्य भार्यासहसत्राणां शतमासीन्महात्मन: । एकैकस्यां च भारयायां सहस्रं तनया5भवन्,महामना शशबिन्दुके एक लाख स्त्रियाँ थीं और प्रत्येक स्त्रीके गर्भसे एक-एक हजार पुत्र उत्पन्न हुए थे
tasya bhāryāsahasrāṇāṃ śatam āsīn mahātmanaḥ | ekaikasyāṃ ca bhāryāyāṃ sahasraṃ tanayā abhavan | mahāmanā śaśabinduke
That great-souled king had a hundred thousand wives; and from each wife a thousand sons were born—such was the extraordinary fecundity and royal magnitude attributed to the high-minded Śaśabindu.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses epic hyperbole to depict royal prosperity and dynastic expansion: immense progeny symbolizes worldly power and the widening scope of a ruler’s obligations (dharma) toward lineage, governance, and social order.
Nārada describes the legendary king Śaśabindu, stating that he had one hundred thousand wives and that each wife bore a thousand sons, emphasizing the king’s extraordinary dynastic magnitude.