Shloka 1
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 178 — Royal Contestants Assemble; Cosmic Witnesses; The Bow Remains Unstrung
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत आदिपव॑ीके अन्तर्गत चैत्ररथपर्वमें वसिष्ठचरित्रके प्रसंगें सौदासको पुत्र-प्राप्तिविषयक एक सौ छिह्वत्तरवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ ॥/ १७६ ॥/ ऑपन--माज बक। अकाल सप्तसप्तत्याधेकशततमोब< ध्याय: शक्तिपुत्र पपशरका जन्म और पिताकी हाल सुनकर कुपित हुए पराशरको शान्त करनेके लिये वसिष्ठजीका उन्हें और्वोपाख्यान सुनाना गन्धर्व उवाच आश्रमस्था तत: पुत्रमदृश्यन्ती व्यजायत । शक्ते: कुलकरं राजन् द्वितीयमिव शक्तिनम्,गन्धर्व कहता है--अर्जुन! तदनन्तर (वसिष्ठजीके) आश्रममें रहती हुई अदृश्यन्तीने शक्तिके वंशको बढ़ानेवाले एक पुत्रको जन्म दिया, मानो उस बालकके रूपमें दूसरे शक्ति मुनि ही हों
gandharva uvāca |
āśramasthā tataḥ putram adṛśyantī vyajāyata |
śakteḥ kulakaraṃ rājan dvitīyam iva śaktinam ||
The Gandharva said: Then, while living in the hermitage, Adṛśyantī gave birth to a son—one who would carry forward Śakti’s lineage, O King—appearing as though he were Śakti himself reborn in a second form. The narrative underscores the dharmic continuity of a sage-lineage: the preservation of a righteous family line is presented not as mere biology, but as the safeguarding of spiritual and ethical inheritance.
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic continuity: sustaining a righteous lineage (kula) is portrayed as preserving spiritual and ethical inheritance, not merely producing an heir.
Adṛśyantī, living in the hermitage, gives birth to a son who will continue Śakti’s line; the child is described as resembling Śakti himself, as if a second Śakti.