Shloka 93
Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
मृत्योस्तु दुहिता राजन् सुनीथा नाम मानसी । प्रख्याता त्रिषु लोकेषु यासौ वेनमजीजनत्
mṛtyos tu duhitā rājan sunīthā nāma mānasī | prakhyātā triṣu lokeṣu yāsau venam ajījanat ||
பீஷ்மர் கூறினார்—அரசே, மரணனுக்குச் சுனீதா என்னும் மனத்தால் பிறந்த மகள் இருந்தாள். அவள் உருவமும் குணங்களும் காரணமாக மூன்று உலகங்களிலும் புகழ்பெற்றவள்; அவளே வேனனைப் பெற்றாள்.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames royal lineage within a moral-cosmic genealogy: qualities and destinies of rulers are portrayed as arising from profound origins (here, Death’s mind-born daughter). It hints that kingship and conduct are not merely personal but tied to larger ethical and cosmic causality.
Bhīṣma, instructing the king, introduces Sunīthā—described as Mṛtyu’s mind-born daughter and famed in the three worlds—and states that she gave birth to Vena, thereby situating Vena’s origin within a significant mythic lineage.