Shloka 21
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 98 — Paraśurāma’s kṣatriya suppression; Dīrghatamas, Bali, Sudēṣṇā, and the birth of Aṅga
पुरा स्त्री मां समभ्यागाच्छान्तनो भूतये तव । त्वामाव्रजेद् यदि रह: सा पुत्र वरवर्णिनी,'शान्तनो! पूर्वकालमें मेरे समीप एक दिव्य नारी आयी थी। उसका आगमन तुम्हारे कल्याणके लिये ही हुआ था। बेटा! यदि वह सुन्दरी कभी एकान्तमें तुम्हारे पास आवे, तुम्हारे प्रति कामभावसे युक्त हो और तुमसे पुत्र पानेकी इच्छा रखती हो, तो तुम उत्तम रूपसे सुशोभित उस दिव्य नारीसे “अंगने! तुम कौन हो? किसकी पुत्री हो? इत्यादि प्रश्न न करना
purā strī māṁ samabhyāgāc chāntano bhūtaye tava | tvām āvrajed yadi rahaḥ sā putra varavarṇinī ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: “Outrora, ó Śāntanu, uma mulher veio uma vez a mim — sua vinda foi para o teu bem. Meu filho, se essa dama de bela compleição algum dia se aproximar de ti em segredo, tomada de desejo e querendo obter de ti um filho, então não interrogues essa radiante mulher divina — ‘Senhora, quem és tu? De quem és filha?’ e coisas semelhantes.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames a dharmic caution about accepting a destined encounter without intrusive questioning: when an event is presented as for one’s welfare and tied to lineage, the instruction is to restrain curiosity and comply with the prescribed conduct, prioritizing the larger good (bhūti) over personal interrogation.
A narrator reports an earlier warning given to King Śāntanu: a radiant, divine woman may come to him privately seeking a son; if she does, he is instructed not to ask her identity or parentage, implying a fated union connected to the continuation of the royal line.