Shloka 8
जानती चाप्यकर्तव्यं कन्याया गर्भधारणम् । पुत्रस्नेहेन सा राजन् करुणं पर्यदेवयत्,राजन! यद्यपि वह यह जानती थी कि किसी कन्याके लिये गर्भधारण करना सर्वथा निषिद्ध और अनुचित है, तथापि पुत्रस्नेह उमड़ आनेसे कुन्ती वहाँ करूणाजनक विलाप करने लगी
jānatī cāpy akartavyaṃ kanyāyā garbhadhāraṇam | putrasnehena sā rājan karuṇaṃ paryadevayat ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Though she knew, O king, that for an unmarried maiden to conceive is a deed forbidden and improper, still—overwhelmed by love for her son—she broke into a piteous lament.”
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic tension: clear knowledge of what is socially and ethically prohibited can still be overpowered by powerful human emotions—here, maternal love—leading to grief and conflicted speech.
The narrator states that the woman (understood as Kuntī in this episode) knows that a maiden’s conception is deemed improper, yet her affection for her son surges, and she begins to lament sorrowfully before the king.