Shloka 36
एवं तामनुनीयाहं मातरं जनमेव च,महाराज! इस प्रकार माता तथा अन्य लोगोंको अनुनय-विनयके द्वारा अनुकूल करके माताके सहित मैंने महामुनि व्यासको प्रसन्न करके भाईकी स्ट्रियोंसे पुत्र उत्पन्न करनेके लिये उनसे प्रार्थना की। भरतकुल-भूषण! महर्षिने कृपा की और उन स्त्रियोंसे तीन पुत्र उत्पन्न किये
evaṁ tām anunīyāhaṁ mātaraṁ janameva ca, mahārāja! itthaṁ mātaraṁ tathānyān janān anunaya-vinayābhyāṁ anukūlān kṛtvā mātṛ-sahito ’haṁ mahāmuniṁ vyāsaṁ prasādya bhrātuḥ strībhiḥ putrotpādanārthaṁ taṁ prārthitavān. bharatakula-bhūṣaṇa! maharṣiḥ kṛpāṁ cakāra, tābhiś ca strībhiḥ trīn putrān ajījanat.
Bhishma said: “O great king, having thus won over my mother and the others through respectful persuasion, I—together with my mother—approached the great sage Vyasa and sought his favor. I then requested him to beget sons through my brother’s wives, so that the royal line might not perish. O ornament of the Bharata race, the seer, moved by compassion, consented and fathered three sons through those women.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights a ruler’s and elder’s responsibility to preserve social and dynastic order through lawful, socially sanctioned means, using humility and persuasion rather than coercion. It frames Vyasa’s act as compassion in service of lineage and stability, underscoring that intention (protecting the kingdom and family line) and proper procedure matter in dharmic decision-making.
Bhishma recounts how he and his mother Satyavati persuaded the concerned parties and then approached the sage Vyasa. They requested him to beget heirs through Vichitravirya’s widowed queens so the Kuru line would continue. Vyasa agreed and fathered three sons, ensuring succession.