Shloka 115
अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope
(ततो धर्मोपनिषद: श्रुत्वा भर्तु: प्रिया पृथा । धर्मानिलेन्द्रान् स्तुतिभिर्जुहाव सुतवाउछया । तद्दत्तोपनिषन्माद्री चाश्विनावाजुहाव च ।) तापसै: सह संवृद्धा मातृभ्यां परिरक्षिता: । मेध्यारण्येषु पुण्येषु महतामाश्रमेषु च,पतिप्रिया कुन्तीने पतिके मुखसे धर्म-रहस्यकी बातें सुनकर पुत्र पानेकी इच्छासे मन्त्र- जप॒पूर्वक स्तुतिद्वारा धर्म, वायु और इन्द्र देववाका आवाहन किया। कुन्तीके उपदेश देनेपर माद्री भी उस मन्त्र-विद्याको जान गयी और उसने संतानके लिये दोनों अश्विनीकुमारोंका आवाहन किया। इस प्रकार इन पाँचों देवताओंसे पाण्डवोंकी उत्पत्ति हुई। पाँचों पाण्डव अपनी दोनों माताओंद्वारा ही पाले-पोसे गये। वे वनोंमें और महात्माओंके परम पुण्य आश्रमोंमें ही तपस्वी लोगोंके साथ दिनोदिन बढ़ने लगे
tato dharmopaniṣadaḥ śrutvā bhartuḥ priyā pṛthā | dharmānilendrān stutibhir juhāva sutavāñchayā | taddattopaniṣan mādrī cāśvināv ājuhāva ca | tāpasaiḥ saha saṃvṛddhā mātṛbhyāṃ parirakṣitāḥ | medhyāraṇyeṣu puṇyeṣu mahatām āśrameṣu ca |
Then Pṛthā (Kuntī), beloved of her husband, having heard from him the secret doctrine concerning Dharma, invoked through hymns and mantra-recitation—out of a longing for sons—the deities Dharma, Vāyu, and Indra. Instructed by her, Mādrī too learned that sacred formula and invoked the two Aśvin twins for offspring. Thus were the Pāṇḍavas born from these five divine powers. The five brothers, protected and nurtured by their two mothers, grew up among ascetics, in pure and holy forests and in the sacred hermitages of great seers—formed by a life of restraint, reverence, and dharmic discipline.
Educational Q&A
The passage frames progeny, power, and destiny within dharma: even extraordinary means (divine invocation) are presented as legitimate only when guided by a ‘secret doctrine’ and pursued with reverence, restraint, and responsibility. The Pāṇḍavas’ later greatness is ethically grounded in an upbringing among ascetics and sacred hermitages, emphasizing formation through discipline and protection rather than mere birth.
Kuntī, having learned a confidential mantra-teaching connected with Dharma, invokes Dharma, Vāyu, and Indra to obtain sons. She then shares the method with Mādrī, who invokes the Aśvin twins. From these five deities the five Pāṇḍavas are born, and the brothers are raised by their two mothers in holy forests and the āśramas of great sages, growing up among ascetics.