Shloka 23

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच तथेत्युक्त्वा तु तां कुन्तीमाविवेश विहड्भम: । स्वर्भानुशत्रुर्योगात्मा नाभ्यां पस्पर्श चैव ताम्‌,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं-जनमेजय! तब “बहुत अच्छा” कहकर आकाशचारी राहुशत्रु भगवान्‌ सूर्यने योगरूपसे कुन्तीके शरीरमें प्रवेश किया और उसकी नाभिको छू दिया

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: tathety uktvā tu tāṁ Kuntīm āviveśa vihāyasaḥ | Svarbhānu-śatrur yogātmā nābhyāṁ pasparśa caiva tām ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana kể: Đáp lời “Được như vậy”, thần Mặt Trời—kẻ thù của Svarbhānu (Rāhu), bậc du hành giữa không trung, đầy quyền năng yoga—đã nhập vào thân thể Kuntī theo phép nhiệm mầu và chạm vào rốn nàng.

Word by Word

वैशम्पायनःVaiśampāyana

उवाचsaid

तथाthus / so

इतिthus (quotative)

उक्त्वाhaving said

तुbut / indeed

ताम्her

कुन्तीम्Kuntī

आविवेशentered

विहङ्गमःthe sky-goer (bird-like; here: the Sun moving in the sky)

स्वर्भानु-शत्रुःenemy of Svarbhānu (i.e., the Sun; foe of Rāhu)

योगात्माwhose nature is yoga / in yogic form

नाभ्याम्with the navel / at the navel (by contact)

पस्पर्शtouched

चand

एवindeed / just

ताम्her

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kuntī

Sūrya (the Sun)

Svarbhānu/Rāhu

Janamejaya

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?

Extraordinary powers and divine gifts operate within a moral framework: they are effective and sanctioned, yet they demand discretion, self-control, and accountability from the recipient, since their consequences shape lives and lineage.

What is happening in the narrative?

After agreeing to Kuntī’s request, the Sun—described as the sky-moving foe of Rāhu and endowed with yogic power—mystically enters her body and touches her navel, marking the commencement of a supernatural, divinely effected union central to Kuntī’s later story.