Shloka 23

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच तथेत्युक्त्वा तु तां कुन्तीमाविवेश विहड्भम: । स्वर्भानुशत्रुर्योगात्मा नाभ्यां पस्पर्श चैव ताम्‌,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं-जनमेजय! तब “बहुत अच्छा” कहकर आकाशचारी राहुशत्रु भगवान्‌ सूर्यने योगरूपसे कुन्तीके शरीरमें प्रवेश किया और उसकी नाभिको छू दिया

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: tathety uktvā tu tāṁ Kuntīm āviveśa vihāyasaḥ | Svarbhānu-śatrur yogātmā nābhyāṁ pasparśa caiva tām ||

Translation

वैशम्पायन बोले—“तथास्तु” कहकर आकाशचारी, स्वर्भानु (राहु) के शत्रु, योगबलसम्पन्न सूर्यदेव कुन्ती के शरीर में प्रविष्ट हुए और उसकी नाभि का स्पर्श किया।

Word by Word

वैशम्पायनःVaiśampāyana

उवाचsaid

तथाthus / so

इतिthus (quotative)

उक्त्वाhaving said

तुbut / indeed

ताम्her

कुन्तीम्Kuntī

आविवेशentered

विहङ्गमःthe sky-goer (bird-like; here: the Sun moving in the sky)

स्वर्भानु-शत्रुःenemy of Svarbhānu (i.e., the Sun; foe of Rāhu)

योगात्माwhose nature is yoga / in yogic form

नाभ्याम्with the navel / at the navel (by contact)

पस्पर्शtouched

चand

एवindeed / just

ताम्her

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kuntī

Sūrya (the Sun)

Svarbhānu/Rāhu

Janamejaya

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Extraordinary powers and divine gifts operate within a moral framework: they are effective and sanctioned, yet they demand discretion, self-control, and accountability from the recipient, since their consequences shape lives and lineage.

What is happening in the narrative?

After agreeing to Kuntī’s request, the Sun—described as the sky-moving foe of Rāhu and endowed with yogic power—mystically enters her body and touches her navel, marking the commencement of a supernatural, divinely effected union central to Kuntī’s later story.