Mahabharata — Adi Parva, Shloka 29
Droṇotpattiḥ and Dhanurveda-Prāpti
Origin of Droṇa and Acquisition of Martial Science
संयुक्ता विप्रयुक्ता श्च पूर्वदेहे कृता मया । तदिदं कर्मभि: पापै: पूर्वदेहेषु संचितम्
saṃyuktā viprayuktāś ca pūrvadehe kṛtā mayā | tad idaṃ karmabhiḥ pāpaiḥ pūrvadeheṣu sañcitam, rājan |
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Dalam jasad terdahulu, aku telah menyebabkan perpisahan antara lelaki dan perempuan yang hidup bersama. Oleh perbuatan dosa itu, yang terkumpul sebagai benih terpendam sepanjang jelmaan-jemlaan lampau, maka dukacita perpisahan inilah kini menimpa diriku, wahai Raja.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches karmaphala: causing others’ separation (a harmful ethical act) ripens later as one’s own experience of separation and sorrow, even across rebirths, because deeds accumulate as latent karmic seeds.
The speaker explains present grief as the consequence of past wrongdoing—specifically, having broken the union of couples in a previous life—thereby framing the current suffering as morally intelligible within the Mahābhārata’s karmic worldview.