Shloka 25
Jarā’s Account and the Enthronement of Jarāsandha (जरासंधोत्पत्तिः अभिषेकश्च)
ततः सभार्य: प्रणतस्तमुवाच बृहद्रथ: । पुत्रदर्शननैराश्याद् वाष्पसंदिग्धया गिरा
tataḥ sabhāryaḥ praṇatas tam uvāca bṛhadrathaḥ | putradarśana-nairāśyād vāṣpa-saṃdigdhyayā girā ||
Then King Bṛhadratha, accompanied by his queens, bowed down and addressed the sage. Hopeless from long disappointment at not beholding a son, and with his speech choked and blurred by tears, he spoke—revealing both the human pain of unfulfilled lineage and the king’s reverent reliance on ascetic truth for guidance and remedy.
स उवाच मुनि राजा भगवन् नास्ति मे सुतः ।
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights humility and reliance on dharmic, truth-bearing ascetic counsel: even a powerful king, distressed by the absence of an heir, approaches a sage with reverence, showing that authority is ethically tempered by submission to spiritual insight and truth.
After the sage offers a boon, King Bṛhadratha comes with his queens, bows down, and speaks through tears—his voice clouded by grief—because he has lost hope of ever seeing a son.