Shloka 14
धृतराष्ट्र–दुर्योधन संवादः
Vāraṇāvata-vivāsana-nīti: Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana’s Policy Dialogue
तस्याथ मिथुन जज्ञे गौतमस्य शरद्वत: । मृगयां चरतो राज्ञ: शन्तनोस्तु यदृच्छया
tasya atha mithunaṁ jajñe gautamasya śaradvatāḥ | mṛgayāṁ carato rājñaḥ śantanostu yadṛcchayā ||
तत्पश्चात् गौतमपुत्र शरद्वान के उसी वीर्य से एक पुत्र और एक कन्या—ऐसे युगल का जन्म हुआ। उसी समय दैवयोग से राजा शन्तनु शिकार करते हुए वहाँ आ पहुँचे।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a king’s dharma expressed as compassionate protection: Śantanu responds to vulnerable children not with suspicion but with care, taking responsibility for their welfare. It also suggests that signs of discipline and learning (bow, arrows, antelope-skin) indicate a cultured lineage, and that chance events (yadṛcchayā) can become vehicles for dharmic action.
Śaradvat, of Gautama’s lineage, has twins. During a hunt, King Śantanu’s party encounters the children in the forest and, noticing their martial-Brahmin markers (bow, arrows, black antelope-skin), concludes they are born of a learned Brahmin adept in archery. Śantanu, moved by compassion, brings them to his home and presents them as his own.