Shloka 37
कृपकृपी-जननम्
The Birth of Kṛpa and Kṛpī; Kṛpa’s Attainment of Astras
तस्मात् प्रहेष्याम्यद्य त्वां हीन: प्रजननात् स्वयम् | सदृशाच्छेयसो वा त्वं विद्धापत्यं यशस्विनि,“अतः यशस्विनी कुन्ती! मैं स्वयं संतानोत्पादनकी शक्तिसे रहित होनेके कारण तुम्हें आज दूसरेके पास भेजूँगा। तुम मेरे सदूश अथवा मेरी अपेक्षा भी श्रेष्ठ पुरुषसे संतान प्राप्त करो”
tasmāt praheṣyāmy adya tvāṃ hīnaḥ prajananāt svayam | sadṛśāc chreyaso vā tvaṃ viddhāpatyaṃ yaśasvini ||
Therefore, O illustrious lady, since I myself am deprived of the power to beget children, today I shall send you to another. From a man equal to me—or even superior—seek and obtain offspring. The statement frames a dynastic and dharmic anxiety: the continuation of lineage is treated as a duty, and the speaker proposes an extraordinary remedy while still trying to preserve propriety by insisting on a worthy partner.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the dharmic imperative of continuing the lineage when a ruler is unable to beget children, and it shows how extraordinary measures are justified within a framework of social propriety—seeking a partner who is 'equal or superior' to protect honor and legitimacy.
The speaker reports a husband’s decision to send Kuntī to another man for the sake of obtaining offspring, because he himself lacks the capacity for procreation; it sets up the narrative mechanism by which heirs will be produced despite the husband’s incapacity.