Shloka 36
Adhyāya 123 — Droṇa’s Pedagogy: Arjuna’s Preeminence, Ekalavya’s Self-Training, and the Bhāsa-Lakṣya Trial
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--महाराज पाण्डुके यों कहने-पर यशस्विनी कुन्तीने इन्द्रका (उत्तराभ्यां तु पूर्वाभ्यां फल्गुनीभ्यां ततो दिवा । जातस्तु फाल्गुने मासि तेनासौ फाल्गुन: स्मृतः ।।
vaiśampāyana uvāca—uttarābhyāṃ tu pūrvābhyāṃ phalgunībhyāṃ tato divā | jātas tu phālgune māsi tenāsau phālgunaḥ smṛtaḥ || jātamātre kumāre tu vāg uvācāśarīriṇī | mahāgambhīra-nirghoṣā nabho nādayatī tadā ||
उत्तराभ्यां तु पूर्वाभ्यां फल्गुनीभ्यां ततो दिवा । जातस्तु फाल्गुने मासि तेनासौ फाल्गुनः स्मृतः ॥ जातमात्रे कुमारे तु वागुवाचाशरीरिणी । महागम्भीरनिर्घोषा नभो नादयती तदा ॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames a hero’s life as guided by auspicious timing and divine sanction: names, identity, and future role are linked to cosmic order (month and nakṣatra), and a heavenly proclamation signals that extraordinary births carry responsibilities aligned with dharma.
After Pāṇḍu’s request, Kuntī bears a son through Indra. He is born in the month of Phālguna during the transition between Pūrvā-Phalgunī and Uttarā-Phalgunī, hence called Phālguna (Arjuna). Immediately, a bodiless divine voice resounds in the sky and addresses Kuntī before the assembled hermitage community.