Shloka 8
Udyoga Parva 142: Vidura’s warning to Kuntī and Kuntī’s resolve to meet Karṇa
Gaṅgātīra encounter begins
प्राजापत्यं हि नक्षत्र ग्रहस्तीक्ष्णो महाद्युति: । शनैश्वर: पीडयति पीडयन् प्राणिनोडधिकम्,“महातेजस्वी एवं तीक्ष्ण ग्रह शनैश्षर प्रजापति-सम्बन्धी रोहिणीनक्षत्रको पीड़ित करते हुए जगतके प्राणियोंको अधिक-से-अधिक पीड़ा दे रहे हैं
prajāpatyaṃ hi nakṣatra-grahas tīkṣṇo mahādyutiḥ | śanaiścaraḥ pīḍayati pīḍayan prāṇino 'dhikam ||
Sañjaya said: “Śanaiścara (Saturn), a fierce and brilliantly radiant planet, is afflicting the Prajāpati-associated lunar mansion; and by that very affliction he is causing ever greater suffering to living beings.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames cosmic disturbance as a moral and social warning: when harsh forces prevail (symbolized by Saturn’s affliction), collective suffering increases, urging rulers and communities to act with restraint and dharma to avert catastrophe.
Sañjaya reports ominous celestial signs. Saturn is described as severely afflicting a Prajāpati-linked nakṣatra, and this astrological disturbance is presented as a portent of escalating distress among living beings—foreshadowing the coming devastation of war.