Shloka 5
नियोगप्रसङ्गः — The Niyoga Episode: Births of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Pāṇḍu, and Vidura
गजड़ोवाच यं लेभे वरुण: पुत्र पुरा भरतसत्तम । वसिष्ठनामा स मुनि: ख्यात आपव इत्युत
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: yaṃ lebhe Varuṇaḥ putraṃ purā bharatasattama | Vasiṣṭhanāmā sa muniḥ khyāta āpava ity uta ||
گنگا نے کہا—اے بھرت شریشٹھ! قدیم زمانے میں ورُن نے جسے بیٹے کے طور پر پایا تھا، وہی مُنی وِسِشٹھ ہے؛ وہ ‘آپَو’ کے لقب سے بھی مشہور ہے۔
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the legitimacy and moral-spiritual authority of a great ṛṣi through recognized lineage and established tradition: Vasiṣṭha’s renown (including the epithet Āpava) is not self-asserted but affirmed by sacred history and communal memory.
The narrator Vaiśampāyana identifies a celebrated sage: Vasiṣṭha, also called Āpava, described as one whom Varuṇa previously obtained as a son. This functions as a genealogical/identificatory note within the Adi Parva’s broader account of origins and lineages.