Mahabharata 1.111.8 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 111, Shloka 8
पाण्डोः तपः-प्रसङ्गः, ऋण-धर्मः, अपत्य-प्राप्ति-चिन्ता
Pāṇḍu’s Asceticism, the Doctrine of Debts, and Deliberations on Progeny
तथोक्ता सा तु विप्रेण कुन्ती कौतूहलान्विता । कन्या सती देवमर्कमाजुहाव यशस्विनी
tathoktā sā tu vipreṇa kuntī kautūhalānvitā | kanyā satī devam arkam ājuhāva yaśasvinī ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: Setelah ditegur demikian oleh brahmin itu, Kuntī pun dipenuhi rasa ingin tahu. Walaupun masih gadis belum bersuami, puteri yang termasyhur itu menyeru Dewa Matahari, Arka, untuk menguji kekuatan mantra tersebut.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sacred power is not merely to be tested out of curiosity; invoking divine forces carries moral and practical consequences. The verse frames an ethical tension between inquisitiveness and responsibility, especially when one acts without fully foreseeing outcomes.
After being instructed by a brahmin (contextually connected with the mantra given to her), Kuntī—still a maiden—invokes the Sun-god Arka to verify the mantra’s efficacy, setting in motion the events that will lead to Karṇa’s birth.
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