Shloka 21
Kuntī–Karṇa Saṃvāda: Lineage Disclosure and Appeal to Fraternal Dharma
“जब मैं पिताके घर रहती थी
yadāhaṃ pituḥ gṛhe vasāmi sma, tadā svasevayā bhagavantaṃ durvāsasam ārādhitavatī; sa ca me varaṃ dadau—mantroccāraṇapūrvakam āvāhane kṛte ahaṃ yathā-kāmaṃ yaṃ yaṃ devaṃ samīpam ānayituṃ śakṣyāmi. mama pitā kuntibhojaḥ māṃ mahad ādareṇa pālayām āsa. ahaṃ rājñaḥ antaḥpure duḥkhitahṛdayā mantrāṇāṃ balābalaṃ brāhmaṇavācaḥ śaktiṃ ca bahuvidhaṃ vicārayām āsaṃ.
毗舍波耶那说道：“当我居于父家之时，我以侍奉令可敬的仙人杜尔瓦萨欢喜。他赐我一恩：若以正当诵持真言而召请，我便能随心所欲召来任何天神至我面前。父亲昆提菩阇对我极为尊崇。然而我住在宫中内廷，心中不安，反复思量真言之力与其限度，以及婆罗门言语那可畏的威能。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Extraordinary powers gained through devotion and ascetic grace (such as mantra-based invocation) demand ethical restraint and discernment. The passage highlights that sacred speech—mantra and a brahmin’s word—has real consequences, so one must reflect on its proper use and limits.
Kuntī recounts that while living in her father’s home she served the sage Durvāsā and received a boon enabling her to summon any deity by mantra-invocation. Though honored by Kuntibhoja and living in the palace inner quarters, she becomes inwardly uneasy and begins contemplating the potency and boundaries of mantras and the power of brahminical speech.