Shloka 26
नियोगप्रसङ्गः — The Niyoga Episode: Births of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Pāṇḍu, and Vidura
प्रियं प्रियतरं हास्मान्नास्ति मेडन्यत् कथंचन । एतच्छुत्वा वचस्तस्या देव्या: प्रियचिकीर्षया
vaiśampāyana uvāca | priyaṃ priyataram asmān nāsti me d anyat kathaṃcana | etac chrutvā vacas tasyā devyāḥ priyacikīrṣayā dyau nāma vasuḥ pṛthu-ādibhiḥ bhrātṛbhiḥ sāhāyyena tāṃ gāṃ apahṛtya jagrāha | rājan! kamaladala-samāna-viśāla-netrayā patnyā preritah dyauḥ gāṃ apahṛtya tu tadā maharṣeḥ vasiṣṭhasya tīvra-tapasaḥ prabhāvaṃ na dadarśa, na ca mene—ṛṣi-kopāt mama svargāt patanaṃ bhaviṣyatīti |
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Bagiku, tiada apa pun yang lebih kukasihi atau lebih kucintai daripada ini.” Mendengar kata-kata sang dewi dan ingin menyenangkan hatinya, Vasu bernama Dyau, dengan bantuan saudara-saudaranya seperti Pṛthu, telah merampas lembu itu. Wahai Raja, didorong oleh isterinya yang bermata besar laksana kelopak teratai, Dyau memang merebut lembu itu; namun pada saat itu dia tidak memperhitungkan kedahsyatan tapa sang maharṣi Vasiṣṭha, dan tidak pula memikirkan bahawa murka sang resi dapat menjatuhkannya dari syurga.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even actions done to please someone dear become adharma when they violate rightful ownership and disrespect a sage; ignoring the moral and spiritual order (dharma and tapas) brings inevitable consequences, including loss of status and suffering.
A goddess-like wife declares that nothing is dearer to her than a particular cow. Dyau, a Vasu, wanting to please her, steals the cow with his brothers’ help. In doing so he fails to anticipate Vasiṣṭha’s ascetic power and the danger of the sage’s anger, which can cause a fall from heaven.