Shloka 119
अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope
आहु: केचिन्न तस्यैते तस्यैत इति चापरे । यदा चिरमृत: पाण्डु: कथं तस्येति चापरे
āhuḥ kecin na tasyāite tasyaita iti cāpare | yadā ciramṛtaḥ pāṇḍuḥ kathaṃ tasyeti cāpare
Some said, “These are not his,” while others insisted, “These are his indeed.” Yet others raised the objection, “Pāṇḍu has long been dead—how can they be his?” Thus, conflicting voices questioned the legitimacy of the heirs, revealing how public opinion can waver between assertion, denial, and suspicion when dharma and lineage are at stake.
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how questions of dharma, inheritance, and legitimacy are often contested in society: people form judgments based on rumor, inference, and bias. Ethical stability requires more than public opinion—it requires adherence to rightful principles and trustworthy testimony.
Onlookers debate whether the children presented as heirs truly belong to Pāṇḍu. Some deny the claim, some affirm it, and others argue that since Pāṇḍu died long ago, the children cannot be his—foreshadowing tensions around succession and the status of the Pāṇḍavas.