Shloka 16
पाण्डोः तपः-प्रसङ्गः, ऋण-धर्मः, अपत्य-प्राप्ति-चिन्ता
Pāṇḍu’s Asceticism, the Doctrine of Debts, and Deliberations on Progeny
बन्धुपक्ष भयाद् भीता लज्जया च यशस्विनी । तामर्कः पुनरेवेदमब्रवीद् भरतर्षभ,यशस्विनी कुन्ती भाई-बन्धुओंमें बदनामी फैलनेके डरसे भी डरी हुई थी और नारीसुलभ लज्जासे भी वह विवश थी। भरतश्रेष्ठ) उस समय सूर्यदेवने पुनः: उससे कहा --
bandhupakṣa-bhayād bhītā lajjayā ca yaśasvinī | tām arkaḥ punar evedam abravīd bharatarṣabha ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «La célèbre Kuntī, craignant l’opprobre qui pourrait se répandre parmi les siens et contrainte par la pudeur propre aux femmes, demeurait en détresse. Alors le dieu Soleil (Arka) lui adressa de nouveau la parole, ô taureau parmi les Bhārata—»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral conflict central to dharma: personal choices are weighed not only by inner conscience but also by social consequences—family reputation (bandhupakṣa-bhaya) and modesty (lajjā). It frames how honor-culture pressures can constrain agency, even for the virtuous (yaśasvinī).
Kuntī, anxious about scandal among her relatives and restrained by modesty, is emotionally cornered. At this moment, the Sun-god Arka resumes speaking to her, indicating an ongoing divine-human dialogue that will shape subsequent events.