Shloka 63
Kuvalāśva’s Lineage and Uttaṅka’s Petition concerning Dhundhu (धुन्धु-प्रसङ्गः)
वामदेव उवाच जानामि पुत्र दशवर्ष तवाहं जात॑ माहिष्यां श्येनजितं नरेन्द्र । तं जहि त्वं मद्गचनात् प्रणुन्न- स्तूर्ण प्रियं सायकैघोररूपै:,वामदेवने कहा--नरेन्द्र! मैं जानता हूँ, तुम्हारी रानीके गर्भसे श्येनजितू नामक एक पुत्र पैदा हुआ है, जो तुम्हें बहुत प्रिय है और जिसकी अवस्था दस वर्षकी हो गयी है। तुम मेरी आज्ञासे प्रेरित होकर इन भयंकर बाणोंद्वारा अपने उसी पुत्रका शीघ्र वध करोगे
vāmadeva uvāca | jānāmi putra daśavarṣa tavāhaṃ jātaṃ māhiṣyāṃ śyenajitaṃ narendra | taṃ jahi tvaṃ madājñānāt praṇunnas tūrṇaṃ priyaṃ sāyakair ghorarūpaiḥ ||
Vāmadeva said: “O king, I know that a son named Śyenajit has been born to you from your chief queen, and that he is now ten years old and very dear to you. Urged on by my command, you must swiftly slay that beloved son with these dreadful arrows.”
वामदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds a severe dharmic dilemma: whether obedience to a revered authority can override fundamental moral restraints, especially regarding violence against one’s own child. It invites reflection on the limits of command, the need for discernment (viveka), and the tension between external injunction and inner dharma.
The sage Vāmadeva addresses a king and reveals that the king has a beloved ten-year-old son, Śyenajit, born of the chief queen. Vāmadeva then issues a shocking order: the king, driven by the sage’s command, should quickly kill that son with dreadful arrows—setting up a dramatic test of the king’s conduct and moral judgment.