Shloka 1
भीष्मद्रोणयोर्दुर्योधनं प्रति शमोपदेशः | Bhīṣma and Droṇa’s Counsel of Conciliation to Duryodhana
अत-#--#क्रत सप्तत्रिशर्दाधिकशततमोब< ध्याय: कुन्तीका पाण्डवोंके लिये संदेश देना और श्रीकृष्णका उनसे विदा लेकर उपप्लव्य नगरमें जाना कुन्त्युवाच अर्जुन केशव ब्रूयास्त्वयि जाते सम सूतके । उपोपविष्टा नारीभिराश्रमे परिवारिता
putra uvāca | tataḥ ṣaṭtriṁśad-adhika-śatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ | kuntīkā pāṇḍavān prati sandeshaḥ; śrīkṛṣṇasya ca tebhyo vidāyāḥ kṛtvā upaplavya-nagaraṁ prati gamanam | kuntī uvāca | arjuna keśava brūyās tvayi jāte sama-sūtake | upopaviṣṭā nārībhir āśrame parivāritā |
The son said: Then begins the one-hundred-and-thirty-sixth chapter. Its theme is Kuntī’s message for the Pāṇḍavas and Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s taking leave of them and going to the city of Upaplavya. Kuntī said: “Keśava, when you go, you should tell Arjuna this: at the time of your birth, when I was seated in the hermitage’s lying-in chamber, surrounded by women attending the delivery, I heard a lovely, divine voice in the sky declaring: ‘Kuntī, this son of yours will be as mighty as Indra.’”
पुत्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kuntī frames Arjuna’s duty through a remembered divine prophecy: his strength is not merely personal but entrusted by a higher order. The ethical thrust is to act with courage and responsibility, recognizing one’s capacities as meant for dharmic purpose rather than fear or hesitation.
Kuntī asks Kṛṣṇa (Keśava) to convey a message to Arjuna. She recalls the moment of Arjuna’s birth in the hermitage, when a heavenly voice foretold that her son would be as mighty as Indra—an encouragement meant to steady Arjuna as events move toward conflict.