Shloka 7
मधूच्छिष्टस्थितायां सा सुखायां रुदती तथा । श्लक्ष्णायां सुपिधानायामश्वनद्यामवासृजत्,उस बालकके पैदा होते ही भामिनी कुन्तीने धायसे सलाह लेकर एक पिटारी मँगवायी और उसमें सब ओर सुन्दर मुलायम बिछौने बिछा दिये। इसके बाद उस पिटारीमें चारों ओर मोम चुपड़ दिया, जिससे उसके भीतर जल न प्रवेश कर सके। जब वह सब तरहसे चिकनी और सुखद हो गयी, तब उसके भीतर उस बालकको सुला दिया और उसका सुन्दर ढककन बंद कर दिया तथा रोते-रोते उस पिटारीको अश्वनदीमें छोड़ दिया
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca |
madhūcchiṣṭasthitāyāṃ sā sukhāyāṃ rudatī tathā |
ślakṣṇāyāṃ supidhānāyām aśvanadyām avāsṛjat ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Having placed the child in a box made secure with wax—smooth, well-covered, and made comfortable—she, weeping all the while, set it adrift in the Aśvanadī. The scene underscores a painful moral tension: a mother’s protective care expressed through an act of abandonment compelled by fear of social blame and the constraints of duty as understood in her circumstances.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical complexity of dharma under social pressure: even when an action (abandoning a child) is outwardly troubling, the agent may still act with care and compassion, revealing an inner struggle between personal responsibility, fear of dishonor, and protective intent.
A woman, crying, places a newborn in a smooth, comfortable, well-lidded container sealed with wax to keep water out, and releases it into the river Aśvanadī—an act of setting the child adrift while still trying to ensure its safety.