Shloka 21
Kuntī–Karṇa Saṃvāda: Lineage Disclosure and Appeal to Fraternal Dharma
“जब मैं पिताके घर रहती थी
yadāhaṃ pituḥ gṛhe vasāmi sma, tadā svasevayā bhagavantaṃ durvāsasam ārādhitavatī; sa ca me varaṃ dadau—mantroccāraṇapūrvakam āvāhane kṛte ahaṃ yathā-kāmaṃ yaṃ yaṃ devaṃ samīpam ānayituṃ śakṣyāmi. mama pitā kuntibhojaḥ māṃ mahad ādareṇa pālayām āsa. ahaṃ rājñaḥ antaḥpure duḥkhitahṛdayā mantrāṇāṃ balābalaṃ brāhmaṇavācaḥ śaktiṃ ca bahuvidhaṃ vicārayām āsaṃ.
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「私が父の家に住んでいた頃、奉仕によって尊き仙人ドゥルヴァーサを満足させた。彼は私に恩寵を授けた――正しく真言を誦して招けば、望むいかなる神々でも我が前に呼び寄せられる、というものだ。父クンティボージャは私を大いに敬った。だが宮中の内廷に住むうち、私は胸を騒がせ、真言の力とその限界、そしてバラモンの言葉がもつ恐るべき威力について、さまざまに思い巡らした。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Extraordinary powers gained through devotion and ascetic grace (such as mantra-based invocation) demand ethical restraint and discernment. The passage highlights that sacred speech—mantra and a brahmin’s word—has real consequences, so one must reflect on its proper use and limits.
Kuntī recounts that while living in her father’s home she served the sage Durvāsā and received a boon enabling her to summon any deity by mantra-invocation. Though honored by Kuntibhoja and living in the palace inner quarters, she becomes inwardly uneasy and begins contemplating the potency and boundaries of mantras and the power of brahminical speech.