Shloka 13

नियोगप्रसङ्गः — The Niyoga Episode: Births of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Pāṇḍu, and Vidura

Devanagari script

तत्रैकस्थाथ भार्या तु वसोर्वासवविक्रम । संचरन्ती वने तस्मिन्‌ गां ददर्श सुमध्यमा,इन्द्रके समान पराक्रमी महीपाल! उन वसुओंमेंसे एककी सुन्दरी पत्नीने उस वनमें घूमते समय उस गौको देखा

Transliteration

tatraikastātha bhāryā tu vasor vāsavavikrama | sañcarantī vane tasmin gāṃ dadarśa sumadhyamā ||

Translation

ఇంద్రసమాన పరాక్రమముగల మహారాజా! ఆ వసువులలో ఒకనివి సుమధ్యమయైన సుందరి భార్య, ఆ వనంలో సంచరిస్తూ ఆ గోవును చూచెను.

Word by Word

तत्रthere

एकस्थाstaying in one place / stationed (there)

अथthen

भार्याwife

तुbut/indeed

वसोःof Vasu

वासवविक्रमO one whose prowess is like Vasava (Indra)

संचरन्तीwandering/moving about

वनेin the forest

तस्मिन्in that

गाम्a cow

ददर्शsaw

सुमध्यमाslender-waisted (lady)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Vasu (one of the Vasus)

wife of a Vasu

king addressed as vāsavavikrama (Indra-like in prowess)

forest

cow

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A seemingly small perception or desire can become the seed of major karmic outcomes; vigilance and restraint are implied, since actions initiated by impulse can bind even powerful beings to consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that the wife of one of the Vasus, while roaming in a forest, sees a cow—an encounter that sets up the next events in the episode.