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 ||
Dijo el rey: «Como dos yeguas uncidas juntas, y como el súbito picado de un halcón entre los moradores del cielo, ¿quién, entre los dioses, lleva el embrión de esos dos? ¿Y qué descendencia engendran esos dos?»
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.