Shloka 26
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 181 — Svayaṃvara Aftermath: Arjuna–Karna Exchange and Bhīma–Śalya Contest
त॑ं शापमनुसंस्मृत्य पर्यतप्यद् भृशं तदा । एतस्मात् कारणाद् राजा वसिष्ठ॑ संन्ययोजयत् | स्वदारेषु नरश्रेष्ठ शापदोषसमन्वित:
taṁ śāpam anusasmṛtya paryatapyad bhṛśaṁ tadā | etasmāt kāraṇād rājā vasiṣṭhaṁ sanniyojayat | svadāreṣu naraśreṣṭha śāpadoṣasamanvitaḥ |
اس لعنت کو بار بار یاد کرکے وہ اُس وقت نہایت سخت اذیت میں مبتلا ہوا۔ اسی سبب سے، شاپ کے عیب سے بوجھل اُس نرپ شریشٹھ نے—اے نر شریشٹھ—اپنی ہی رانی کے ساتھ نیوگ کرنے کے لیے مہارشی وِسِشٹھ کو مقرر کیا۔
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how a curse (śāpa) can be viewed as producing a moral-ritual blemish (doṣa) that constrains agency, leading rulers to seek extraordinary, dharma-framed remedies (like niyoga) to preserve lineage and social order—while underscoring the tension between personal propriety and perceived duty under compulsion.
The king, repeatedly recalling the curse and suffering intensely, decides that the situation requires an exceptional measure. He therefore commissions the sage Vasiṣṭha to undertake niyoga with the king’s own wife, presenting the act as a consequence of the curse-driven predicament rather than ordinary desire.