Shloka 46
देवसत्रे मृत्युनिरोधः, पूर्वेन्द्राणां मानुषावतरणम्, द्रौपदी-वरकथनम्
Suspension of Death at the Devasatra; Former Indras’ Human Descent; Draupadī’s Boon Etiology
इत्येवं चिन्तयामास सुतस्नेहावृता पृथा । ततः सुप्तजनप्राये दुर्दिने मेघसम्प्लुते,इस प्रकार पुत्रस्नेहमें पगी कुन्तीदेवी जब चिन्तामें मग्न हो रही थीं, आकाशमें मेघोंकी भारी घटा घिर आनेके कारण जब दुर्दिन-सा हो रहा था और जनता सब काम छोड़कर सोये हुएकी भाँति अपने-अपने घरोंपर निश्चेष्ट होकर बैठी थी, उसी समय दिनके तीसरे पहरमें बादलोंसे घिरे हुए सूर्यके समान ब्राह्मणमण्डलीसे घिरे हुए अर्जुनने वहाँ उस कुम्हारके घरमें प्रवेश किया
ity evaṁ cintayāmāsa sutasnehāvṛtā pṛthā | tataḥ suptajanaprāye durdine meghasamplute |
Vaiśampāyana said: Thus Pṛthā (Kuntī), overwhelmed by motherly affection, kept turning these thoughts over in her mind. Then, on a gloomy day when the sky was flooded with heavy clouds and the people, abandoning their tasks, sat motionless in their homes as if asleep, Arjuna—surrounded by a circle of brāhmaṇas, like the sun veiled by clouds—entered there, into the potter’s house, in the third part of the day.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical force of suta-sneha (parental love) as a powerful motive that shapes decisions, while also hinting that even in obscured, adverse circumstances (clouded day), dharmic action and purposeful movement continue—symbolized by Arjuna appearing like the sun behind clouds.
Kuntī is absorbed in anxious reflection. Meanwhile, during gloomy, cloud-heavy weather when the town is unusually still, Arjuna arrives accompanied by brāhmaṇas and enters the potter’s house, marking a shift from Kuntī’s inner deliberation to Arjuna’s outward action.