Shloka 20
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 181 — Svayaṃvara Aftermath: Arjuna–Karna Exchange and Bhīma–Śalya Contest
पत्नीमृतावनुप्राप्य सद्यस्त्यक्ष्यसि जीवितम् । यस्य चर्षेर्वसिष्ठस्य त्वया पुत्रा विनाशिता:
patnīmṛtāv anuprāpya sadyas tyakṣyasi jīvitam | yasya cārṣer vasiṣṭhasya tvayā putrā vināśitāḥ ||
“Begitu engkau mendekati istrimu pada musim suburnya, seketika itu juga engkau akan melepaskan nyawa. Dan melalui putra-putra resi Vasiṣṭha—yang telah kautumpas—istrimu akan mengandung seorang putra.”
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
Grave adharma—especially predatory violence against the innocent and against Brahmin-sages—invites swift, proportionate consequences. The verse emphasizes that wrongdoing can rebound not only on the body (death) but also on social and dynastic aims (offspring and lineage), making ethical restraint central to kingship and personal conduct.
A curse is being pronounced: the addressed man is told he will die immediately upon approaching his wife during her fertile season, and that the sons of the sage Vasiṣṭha—whom he has killed—will nonetheless become the means by which his wife bears a son, ensuring lineage through an ironic reversal.