Shloka 20
नियोगप्रसङ्गः — The Niyoga Episode: Births of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Pāṇḍu, and Vidura
दशवर्षसहस््त्राणि स जीवेत् स्थिरयौवन: । एतच्छुत्वा तु सा देवी नृपोत्तम सुमध्यमा
daśavarṣasahasrāṇi sa jīvet sthirayauvanaḥ | etac chrutvā tu sā devī nṛpottama sumadhyamā |
दशवर्षसहस्राणि स जीवेत् स्थिरयौवनः। एतच्छ्रुत्वा तु सा देवी सुमध्यमा नृपोत्तम॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Extraordinary power or benefit (like longevity from a sacred cow’s milk) becomes an ethical test: desire for gain must be restrained by dharma, especially regarding what belongs to a sage and is protected by tapas.
Dyau describes the divine cow of the sage Vasiṣṭha and declares that drinking her milk grants ten thousand years of life with unwaning youth; upon hearing this, his wife (the devī) reacts, setting up the ensuing desire-driven plot around obtaining the cow.