Shloka 113
Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ
King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt
कृष्णद्वैपायनाज्जज्ञे धृतराष्ट्रो जनेश्वर: । क्षेत्रे विचित्रवीर्यस्य पाण्डुश्वैव महाबल:,राजा विचित्रवीर्यकी क्षेत्रभूता अम्बिका और अम्बालिकाके गर्भसे कृष्णद्वैपायन व्यासद्वारा राजा धृतराष्ट्र और महाबली पाण्डुका जन्म हुआ। द्वैपायन व्याससे ही शूद्रजातीय स्त्रीके गर्भसे विदुरजीका भी जन्म हुआ था। वे धर्म और अर्थके ज्ञानमें निपुण, बुद्धिमान, मेधावी और निष्पाप थे। पाण्डुसे दो स्त्रियोंके द्वारा पृथक्-पृथक् पाँच पुत्र उत्पन्न हुए, जो सब-के-सब देवताओंके समान थे। उन सबमें बड़े युधिष्ठिर थे। वे उत्तम गुणोंमें भी सबसे बढ़-चढ़कर थे
kṛṣṇadvaipāyanāj jajñe dhṛtarāṣṭro janeśvaraḥ | kṣetre vicitravīryasya pāṇḍuś caiva mahābalaḥ ||
Daśa said: From Kṛṣṇa-Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa) was born Dhṛtarāṣṭra, lord among men; and in the field (wife) of King Vicitravīrya, Pāṇḍu too was born, mighty in strength. The passage situates the Kuru succession within the framework of niyoga and lineage-duty: heirs arise not merely by desire but by a socially sanctioned act meant to preserve the dynasty and its dharma.
दाश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames royal succession as a dharmic responsibility: when a dynasty faces extinction, sanctioned means (here, Vyāsa’s begetting of heirs in Vicitravīrya’s ‘field’) are employed to preserve social order and continuity of rule.
Daśa recounts the birth of the Kuru princes: Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Pāṇḍu are born from Vyāsa, with Vicitravīrya’s wife(s) serving as the ‘field’ for conception, establishing the next generation of the Kuru line.