Shloka 20

Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 115 — Mādri’s request; invocation of the Aśvins; birth and naming of the Pāṇḍavas

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच सा सिच्यमाना त्वष्ठीला बभूव शतधा तदा । अड्गुष्ठपर्वमात्राणां गर्भाणां पृथगेव तु,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! उस समय सींचे जानेपर उस मांसपिण्डके सौ टुकड़े हो गये। वे अलग-अलग आँगूठेके पोरुवे बराबर सौ गर्भोंके रूपमें परिणत हो गये

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca sā sicyamānā tvaṣṭhīlā babhūva śatadhā tadā | aṅguṣṭha-parva-mātrāṇāṃ garbhāṇāṃ pṛthag eva tu ||

Translation

毗舍波耶那说道：“当那团肉被洒润之时，它便分裂为一百份。确实，每一份各自化为一个胚胎，大小不过拇指一节——如此，命运的奇异展开，正由对所定仪轨的谨慎奉行而成。”

Word by Word

वैशम्पायनःVaishampayana

उवाचsaid/spoke

साshe/that (fem.)

सिच्यमानाbeing sprinkled/watered

त्वष्ठीलाa lump/mass (of flesh)

बभूवbecame

शतधाinto a hundred parts; a hundredfold

तदाthen

अङ्गुष्ठof the thumb

पर्वof the joint/segment

मात्राणाम्of the measure/size (equal to)

गर्भाणाम्of embryos/fetuses

पृथक्separately

एवindeed/just

तुbut/and (emphatic)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

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?

The verse underscores how outcomes tied to lineage and destiny unfold through adherence to prescribed care and ritual action: when the proper nurturing act (sprinkling/moistening) is performed, what seems inert or abnormal can transform into ordered life, suggesting the power of disciplined observance alongside fate.

What is happening in the narrative?

A previously formed fleshy mass is being ritually moistened/sprinkled; at that moment it divides into a hundred separate portions, and each portion becomes an individual embryo, each about the size of a thumb-joint.