Shloka 48
Pāṇḍu’s Marriages, Conquests, and Triumphal Return (पाण्डोर्विवाह-विजय-प्रत्यागमनम्)
वैशम्पायन उवाच एवमुक्क्त्वा महातेजा व्यास: सत्यवतीं तदा | शयने सा च कौसल्या शुचिवस्त्रा हालंकृता
vaiśampāyana uvāca | evam uktvā mahātejā vyāsaḥ satyavatīṃ tadā | śayane sā ca kausalyā śucivastrā alaṅkṛtā |
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: Tras hablar así, el gran y resplandeciente sabio Vyāsa se dirigió entonces a Satyavatī: «Que Kausalyā, bañada y purificada, vestida con ropas limpias y adornada, aguarde en el lecho». Dicho esto, desapareció de la vista. Luego Satyavatī fue en secreto a su nuera Ambikā, que se hallaba apartada, y le habló palabras provechosas—fundadas en el dharma y en el bien práctico—instándola a escuchar con atención lo que era justo y conveniente ante aquella calamidad.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames a crisis-response ethic: when a lineage faces extinction, elders may counsel actions aimed at the greater good (artha and welfare) while still presenting them as grounded in dharma—an instance of āpaddharma, where duty is interpreted through necessity, propriety, and communal responsibility.
Vyāsa instructs Satyavatī that Kausalyā should prepare—bathed, in clean clothes, adorned—and wait in the bedchamber. After giving this directive, he disappears. Satyavatī then goes privately to Ambikā and speaks beneficial, dharma-aligned counsel, preparing her for what must be done to address the dynastic emergency.