Mahabharata — Adi Parva, Shloka 40

Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 115 — Mādri’s request; invocation of the Aśvins; birth and naming of the Pāṇḍavas

Devanagari script

न चकार तथा राजा पुत्रस्नेहसमन्वित: । ततः पुत्रशतं पूर्ण धृतराष्ट्रस्य पार्थिव

Transliteration

na cakāra tathā rājā putrasnehasamanvitaḥ | tataḥ putraśataṃ pūrṇaṃ dhṛtarāṣṭrasya pārthiva ||

Translation

Вайшампаяна сказал: Но царь, крепко связанный любовью к сыновьям, не поступил так. И потому, о царь, у Дхритараштры стало ровно сто сыновей.

Word by Word

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• चकार: did / performed
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3, singular, Parasmaipada

• तथा: thus / in that manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• राजा: the king
• राजा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• पुत्रस्नेहसमन्वितः: endowed with affection for (his) sons
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुत्रस्नेह-समन्वित
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• ततः: then / thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• पुत्रशतम्: a hundred sons
• पुत्रशतम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र-शत
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular

• पूर्णम्: complete / full
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्ण
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular

• धृतराष्ट्रस्य: of Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Type: Noun
• Root: धृतराष्ट्र
• Form: masculine, genitive, singular

• पार्थिव: O king (earth-lord)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Janamejaya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how putra-sneha (attachment to one’s children) can overpower prudent, dharma-aligned counsel. It implicitly supports the niti principle that for the greater good one may need to relinquish a smaller part—yet Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s inability to do so becomes a seed of later calamity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports to Janamejaya that Dhṛtarāṣṭra did not follow the advised course of action because of his strong affection for his sons. As a result, Dhṛtarāṣṭra ends up with a complete set of one hundred sons, setting the stage for the Kaurava lineage and the conflicts that follow.