Shloka 37
Droṇa–Vidura–Gāndhārī Counsel in the Royal Assembly (धर्मार्थयुक्ता सभा-उपदेश-प्रकरणम्)
अयाचं भ्रातृदारेषु तदा व्यासं महामुनिम् | सह मात्रा महाराज प्रसाद्य तमृषिं तदा
ayācaṁ bhrātṛdāreṣu tadā vyāsaṁ mahāmunim | saha mātrā mahārāja prasādya tam ṛṣiṁ tadā ||
Bhishma dit : «Alors, ô roi, après avoir obtenu par une persuasion respectueuse l’accord de ma mère et des autres, je m’approchai du grand sage Vyasa et, ayant satisfait ce rishi, je le priai d’engendrer des fils sur les veuves de mon frère. Ô ornement de la lignée des Bharata, le Maharshi, par compassion, fit naître trois fils de ces femmes.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights a dharmic priority in royal life: preserving the lineage and stability of the kingdom through sanctioned means (niyoga), carried out with consent-seeking, restraint, and reverence toward spiritual authority.
Bhishma recounts how he persuaded his mother and others, then approached the sage Vyasa and requested him to father children with his deceased brother’s widows, resulting (in the wider episode) in the birth of three sons who continue the Kuru line.