Shloka 27
नियोगप्रसङ्गः — The Niyoga Episode: Births of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Pāṇḍu, and Vidura
पृथ्वद्यैर्भातृभि: सार्थ द्यौस्तदा तां जहार गाम् तया कमलतपत्राक्ष्या नियुक्तो द्यौस्तदा नृप
vaiśampāyana uvāca | pṛthvadyair bhrātṛbhiḥ sārthaṃ dyaus tadā tāṃ jahāra gām | tayā kamalatapatrākṣyā niyukto dyaus tadā nṛpa |
Vaiśampāyana berkata: Wahai Raja, didorong oleh isterinya yang bermata laksana kelopak teratai, Vasu bernama Dyau, bersama saudara-saudaranya seperti Pṛthu, telah menculik lembu itu. Dalam keghairahan untuk menyenangkan hatinya, dia tidak memikirkan kuasa tapa sang resi Vasiṣṭha yang menyala-nyala, dan tidak pula menjangka bahawa murka sang resi boleh menjatuhkannya dari syurga.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even exalted beings fall when they violate dharma under the pressure of desire. Pleasing a loved one cannot justify taking what belongs to a sage; ignoring the moral and spiritual consequences (especially the force of tapas and the certainty of accountability) leads to downfall.
Dyaus, one of the Vasus, is persuaded by his lotus-eyed wife to obtain a particular cow. With his brothers’ help he abducts the cow belonging to the sage Vasiṣṭha, failing to anticipate the sage’s ascetic power and the resulting curse that will cause Dyaus’s fall from heaven.