Shloka 18

धृतराष्ट्रपुत्रनामावलिः (Roster of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Children) / Names of the Kauravas in Order

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच एतेन त्वपराधेन शापात्‌ तस्य महात्मन: । धर्मो विदुररूपेण शूद्रयोनावजायत,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--राजन्‌! इसी अपराधके कारण महात्मा माण्डव्यके शापसे साक्षात्‌ धर्म ही विदुररूपसे शूद्रयोनिमें उत्पन्न हुए

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: etena tv aparādhenā śāpāt tasya mahātmanaḥ | dharmo vidura-rūpeṇa śūdra-yonyām ajāyata ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana thưa: “Tâu Đại vương! Chính vì lỗi ấy, do lời nguyền của bậc đại hồn Māṇḍavya, Dharma đích thân đã sinh từ thai Śūdra, mang hình tướng Vidura.”

Word by Word

वैशम्पायनःVaiśampāyana

उवाचsaid

एतेनby this

तुindeed/but

अपराधेनby the offense

शापात्from (due to) the curse

तस्यof him

महात्मनःof the great-souled one

धर्मःDharma (the deity of righteousness)

विदुररूपेणin the form of Vidura

शूद्रयोनौin a Śūdra womb/birth

अजायतwas born/arose

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Māṇḍavya

Dharma

Vidura

Śūdra (yoni)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even Dharma, the very principle of justice, is shown as subject to moral accountability: an offence can bring consequences through a curse, underscoring that ethical order operates impartially and that responsibility is not avoided by status or divinity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana explains to the king that a prior wrongdoing led to the sage Māṇḍavya cursing Dharma; as a result, Dharma incarnated as Vidura and took birth in a Śūdra womb.