Shloka 27
नियोगप्रसङ्गः — The Niyoga Episode: Births of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Pāṇḍu, and Vidura
पृथ्वद्यैर्भातृभि: सार्थ द्यौस्तदा तां जहार गाम् तया कमलतपत्राक्ष्या नियुक्तो द्यौस्तदा नृप,“मेरे लिये किसी तरह भी इससे बढ़कर प्रिय अथवा प्रियतर वस्तु दूसरी नहीं है।' उस देवीका यह वचन सुनकर उसका प्रिय करनेकी इच्छासे द्यो नामक वसुने पृथु आदि अपने भाइयोंकी सहायतासे उस गौका अपहरण कर लिया। राजन! कमलदलके समान विशाल नेत्रोंवाली पत्नीसे प्रेरित होकर द्योने गौका अपहरण तो कर लिया; परंतु उस समय उन महर्षि वसिष्ठकी तीव्र तपस्याके प्रभावकी ओर वे दृष्टिपात नहीं कर सके और न यही सोच सके कि ऋषिके कोपसे मेरा स्वर्गसे पतन हो जायगा
vaiśampāyana uvāca | pṛthvadyair bhrātṛbhiḥ sārthaṃ dyaus tadā tāṃ jahāra gām | tayā kamalatapatrākṣyā niyukto dyaus tadā nṛpa |
హే నృపా! కమలపత్రాక్షి అయిన భార్య ప్రేరణతో, పృథు మొదలైన సోదరులతో కలిసి వసువు ద్యౌ అప్పుడు ఆ ఆవును అపహరించాడు.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even exalted beings fall when they violate dharma under the pressure of desire. Pleasing a loved one cannot justify taking what belongs to a sage; ignoring the moral and spiritual consequences (especially the force of tapas and the certainty of accountability) leads to downfall.
Dyaus, one of the Vasus, is persuaded by his lotus-eyed wife to obtain a particular cow. With his brothers’ help he abducts the cow belonging to the sage Vasiṣṭha, failing to anticipate the sage’s ascetic power and the resulting curse that will cause Dyaus’s fall from heaven.