Shloka 19
Adhyāya 123 — Droṇa’s Pedagogy: Arjuna’s Preeminence, Ekalavya’s Self-Training, and the Bhāsa-Lakṣya Trial
(मघे चन्द्रमसा युक्ते सिंहे चाभ्युदिते गुरौ । दिवामध्यगते सूर्ये तिथौ पुण्ये त्रयोदशे ।।
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
maghe candramasā yukte siṁhe cābhyudite gurau |
divāmadhyagate sūrye tithau puṇye trayodaśe ||
maitre muhūrte sā kuntī suṣuve bhīmam acyutam ||
yasminn ahani bhīmas tu jajñe bharatasattama |
duryodhano 'pi tatraiva prajajñe vasudhādhipa ||
Waiśampāyana berkata: Ketika Bulan berkonjungsi dengan rasi Maghā, ketika Jupiter terbit di Leo, dan ketika Matahari berdiri tepat di tengah hari di puncak langit—pada tithi ketiga belas yang suci itu, pada muhūrta Maitra, Kuntī melahirkan Bhīma yang teguh dalam daya. Wahai yang terbaik di antara Bharata, pada hari yang sama ketika Bhīma lahir, pada hari itu pula di Hastināpura lahir Duryodhana, wahai penguasa bumi.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the epic frames human history within a larger cosmic and moral order: the simultaneous births of Bhīma and Duryodhana suggest a destined tension—strength arising both to uphold and to challenge dharma—inviting reflection on how power can serve protection or aggression depending on character and choices.
Vaiśampāyana specifies the astrological and calendrical details of Bhīma’s birth (Maghā nakṣatra, Jupiter risen in Leo, midday Sun, Trayodaśī, Maitra muhūrta) and then states that Duryodhana was born on that very same day in Hastināpura.