Shloka 60
अध्याय ७४: अक्रोध–क्षमा–निवासनीति
Chapter 74: Non-anger, Forbearance, and the Ethics of Residence
आहर्ता वाजिमेधस्य शतसंख्यस्य पौरव । इति वागन्तरिक्षे मां सूतके5 भ्यवदत् पुरा,'शत्रुओंका दमन करनेवाले सम्राट! मैंने पूरे तीन वर्षोतक अपने गर्भमें धारण करनेके पश्चात् आपके इस पुत्रको जन्म दिया है। यह आपके शोकका विनाश करनेवाला होगा। पौरव! पहले जब मैं सौरमें थी, उस समय आकाशवाणीने मुझसे कहा था कि यह बालक सौ अश्वमेध यज्ञोंका अनुष्ठान करनेवाला होगा
āhartā vājimedhasya śata-saṅkhyasya paurava | iti vāg antarīkṣe māṃ sūtake 'bhyavadat purā ||
Duṣyanta said: “O descendant of Pūru (Paurava), a voice once spoke to me from the sky at the time of childbirth: ‘This child will be the performer of a hundred Aśvamedha sacrifices.’”
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames royal greatness as grounded in dharmic legitimacy and Vedic responsibility: a ruler’s future sovereignty is presented not merely as personal ambition but as foretold capacity to uphold public order through sanctioned rites (here, the Aśvamedha), linking power with ritual duty.
Duṣyanta recalls a prophetic utterance heard from the sky at the time of childbirth, declaring that the child (contextually Bharata) will perform a hundred Aśvamedha sacrifices—an announcement that establishes the child’s destined imperial stature and supports his recognition and acceptance.