Mahabharata — Adi Parva, Shloka 43
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 115 — Mādri’s request; invocation of the Aśvins; birth and naming of the Pāṇḍavas
जज्ञे धीमांस्ततस्तस्यां युयुत्सु: करणो नृप । एवं पुत्रशतं जज्ञे धृतराष्ट्रस्य धीमत:
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
jajñe dhīmāṁs tatas tasyāṁ yuyutsuḥ karaṇo nṛpa |
evaṁ putraśataṁ jajñe dhṛtarāṣṭrasya dhīmataḥ ||
વૈશંપાયન બોલ્યા—હે નૃપ, ત્યાર પછી તે વૈશ્યા સ્ત્રીથી બુદ્ધિમાન યુયુત્સુ જન્મ્યો, જે ‘કરણ’ નામે પણ પ્રસિદ્ધ હતો. આ રીતે બુદ્ધિમાન ધૃતરાષ્ટ્રના સો પુત્રો જન્મ્યા. વૈશ્યાગર્ભજ હોવા છતાં ધર્મપક્ષે ઊભો રહ્યો તેથી યુયુત્સુ સ્મરણীয় બન્યો.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that dynastic power (a ‘hundred sons’) is not the sole measure of worth; the wider episode remembers Yuyutsu—born outside the queen’s womb and of a different varṇa—as a figure associated with choosing dharma, suggesting ethical agency can outweigh birth-status in moral evaluation.
Vaiśampāyana reports the birth of Yuyutsu (also called Karaṇa) and summarizes that Dhṛtarāṣṭra had a hundred sons. In the broader passage, this is coordinated with the account of Gāndhārī’s children (hundred sons and then a daughter) and the additional son Yuyutsu born from a Vaiśya woman serving in Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s household.
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