Shloka 2
Adhyāya 60: Devagaṇa–Ṛṣi–Prajāpatīnāṃ Sambhavaḥ
Origins of Divine Classes, Sages, and Progenitors
जनयामास यं काली शक्ति: पुत्रात् पराशरात् कन्यैव यमुनाद्वीपे पाण्डवानां पितामहम्,वेदव्यासजीको सत्यवतीने कन्यावस्थामें ही शक्तिनन्दन पराशरजीसे यमुनाजीके द्वीपमें उत्पन्न किया था। वे पाण्डवोंके पितामह हैं
śaunaka uvāca | janayāmāsa yaṃ kālī śaktiḥ putrāt parāśarāt kanyā eva yamunādvīpe pāṇḍavānāṃ pitāmaham ||
Śaunaka said: The sage Śakti’s daughter, Kālī—while still a maiden—gave birth on an island in the Yamunā to him (Vyāsa), through Parāśara. That child became the grandsire of the Pāṇḍavas. The verse underscores the extraordinary, divinely guided origins of Vyāsa, whose birth serves the larger dharmic unfolding of the Bhārata lineage.
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the epic’s central figures arise through extraordinary, dharma-guided circumstances: Vyāsa’s birth is presented as providential, establishing a sacred lineage that will shape the moral and historical course of the Bhārata dynasty.
Śaunaka identifies Vyāsa’s origin: Kālī (Satyavatī), described as Śakti’s daughter, bears a son through the sage Parāśara on an island in the Yamunā; that son is later known as the grandsire/ancestor of the Pāṇḍavas.