Shloka 42
Vasiṣṭhasya śokaḥ, Vipāśā–Śatadrū-nāmākaraṇam, Kalmāṣapādasya bhaya-prasaṅgaḥ (Ādi Parva 167)
हर्षाविष्टांस्ततश्वैतान् नेयं सेहे वसुंधरा । भयापहो राजपुत्र: पाउ्चालानां यशस्कर:,उस समय हर्षोल्लाससे भरे हुए इन पांचालोंका भार यह पृथ्वी नहीं सह सकी। आकाशमें कोई अदृश्य महाभूत इस प्रकार कहने लगा--“यह राजकुमार पांचालोंके भयको दूर करके उनके यशकी वृद्धि करनेवाला होगा। यह राजा द्रुपदका शोक दूर करनेवाला है। द्रोणाचार्यके वधके लिये ही इसका जन्म हुआ है'
harṣāviṣṭāṁs tataś caitān neyaṁ sehe vasuṁdharā | bhayāpaho rājaputraḥ pāñcālānāṁ yaśaskaraḥ |
Entonces, cuando los Pāñcālas fueron arrebatados por el júbilo, la propia tierra no pudo soportar el peso de su exaltación. En ese instante, una voz invisible, venida del cielo, proclamó: «Este príncipe apartará el temor de los Pāñcālas y acrecentará su fama. Disipará la pena del rey Drupada. Ha nacido para dar muerte a Droṇācārya.»
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a birth as morally and socially consequential: a ruler’s offspring is portrayed as arising to protect a community from fear, restore a king’s dignity, and fulfill a destined act in war. It highlights the epic’s tension between human agency and foretold outcomes, where public welfare (removing fear, increasing renown) is intertwined with violent necessity (the foretold killing of Droṇa).
A Brahmin narrator describes the Pāñcālas’ overwhelming joy at the appearance of a prince. The earth is poetically said to be unable to bear their jubilant weight, and an unseen voice from the sky prophesies the prince’s future: he will protect the Pāñcālas, enhance their fame, relieve Drupada’s grief, and be the instrument for Droṇācārya’s death.