Shloka 26
Aṣṭāvakra–Bandi Vāda at Janaka’s Assembly
Numerical Cosmology and Restitution
राजोवाच वडवे इव संयुक्ते श्येनपाते दिवौकसाम् | कस्तयोर्गर्भमाधत्ते गर्भ सुषुवतुश्च कम्,राजाने पूछा--जो दो घोड़ियोंकी भाँति संयुक्त रहती हैं; एवं जो बाज पक्षीकी भाँति हठात् गिरनेवाली हैं उन दोनोंके गर्भको देवताओंमेंसे कौन धारण करता है तथा वे दोनों किस गर्भको उत्पन्न करती हैं?
rājovāca—vaḍave iva saṃyukte śyenapāte divaukasām | kastayor garbham ādhattē garbhaṃ suṣuvatuś ca kam ||
The King said: “Like two mares yoked together, and like a hawk’s sudden downward swoop among the dwellers of heaven—who among the gods bears the embryo of those two, and what offspring do those two bring forth?”
अद्टावक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a probing riddle-like inquiry using vivid metaphors (yoked mares, a hawk’s plunge) to question agency and causality—who truly ‘bears’ and who ‘produces’ outcomes—inviting reflection on responsibility, divine involvement, and the hidden mechanics behind events.
A king poses a challenging question in the form of a metaphorical riddle, asking which deity is responsible for sustaining the ‘womb/embryo’ of two united forces and what their union produces—setting up a philosophical exchange characteristic of wisdom-dialogues in the Vana Parva.