Shloka 20
Duryodhana Seized by Citraseṇa; Kaurava Petition to Yudhiṣṭhira (दुर्योधनापहारः / चित्रसेनगन्धर्वग्रहणम्)
स्कन्द उवाच प्रजा वो द्मि कष्ट तु भवतीभिरुदाह्ृतम् परिरक्षत भद्ठे व: प्रजा: साधु नमस्कृता:,स्कन्द बोले--देवियो! आपलोगोंने यह दुःखकी बात कही है, तो भी मैं आपको पहलेकी मातृकाओंकी संतानको अर्पित कर देता हूँ; परंतु आपलोग उन सबकी रक्षा करें; इसीसे आपका भला होगा। मैं आपको सादर नमस्कार करता हूँ
Skanda uvāca—prajā vo dadmi; kaṣṭaṃ tu bhavatībhir udāhṛtam. Parirakṣata, bhadre vaḥ, prajāḥ; sādhu namaskṛtāḥ.
Skanda said: “I grant you the offspring you seek; yet the distress you have voiced is grave. Therefore, O auspicious ladies, protect these children well—this will bring you welfare. I bow to you with due reverence.”
स्कन्द उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power or entitlement must be matched by responsibility: if one receives charge over vulnerable lives (children/progeny), one’s dharma is to protect and nurture them; welfare (śreyas) follows from guardianship performed rightly.
Skanda responds to a group of goddesses (implicitly the Mātr̥kās) who have expressed a troubling concern. He grants them the progeny/children in question and instructs them to safeguard those children, concluding with a respectful salutation.