Shloka 160
आदि पर्व, अध्याय 67 — गान्धर्वविवाह-समयः
Duḥṣanta–Śakuntalā: Gandharva Marriage and Succession Condition
सिद्धिर्धतिश्व ये देव्यौ पज्चानां मातरौ तु ते । कुन्ती माद्री च जज्ञाते मतिस्तु सुबलात्मजा
siddhir dhṛtiś ca ye devyau pañcānāṁ mātarau tu te | kuntī mādrī ca jajñāte matis tu subalātmajā ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: Dua dewi bernama Siddhi dan Dhṛti telah lahir di bumi sebagai dua ibu kepada lima Pāṇḍava—Kuntī dan Mādrī. Dan dewi Mati sendiri menzahirkan diri sebagai Gāndhārī, puteri Raja Subala. Demikianlah epik ini membingkai para ibu utama dalam garis Kuru–Pāṇḍava sebagai jelmaan sifat-sifat ketuhanan—pencapaian, keteguhan, dan kecerdasan yang tajam—menandakan bahawa daya moral dan psikologi yang membentuk pertikaian mendatang berakar pada asal-usul yang suci.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents key maternal figures as embodiments of divine virtues—Siddhi (accomplishment), Dhṛti (steadfastness), and Mati (intelligence). Ethically, it suggests that human history and moral struggle are shaped by inner qualities; the epic’s great outcomes depend not only on power but on the virtues and dispositions that give rise to action and counsel.
Vaiśampāyana explains a genealogical-cosmic detail: the goddesses Siddhi and Dhṛti took birth as Kuntī and Mādrī, the mothers of the five Pāṇḍavas, and the goddess Mati took birth as Gāndhārī, daughter of Subala. This situates the Kuru–Pāṇḍava family story within a divine framework.