Mahabharata 1.103.12 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 103, Shloka 12
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 103 — Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Gāndhārī Vivāha: Proposal, Consent, and the Vow
रथमारोप्य ता: कन्या भीष्म: प्रहरतां वर: । आहूय दान कन्यानां गुणवद्भ्य: स्मृतं बुध:
ratham āropya tāḥ kanyā bhīṣmaḥ praharatāṁ varaḥ | āhūya dānaṁ kanyānāṁ guṇavadbhyaḥ smṛtaṁ budhaiḥ ||
قال فايشَمبايانا: ثم إنّ بهيشما—وهو أسبق المحاربين—رفع تلك العذارى وأركبهنّ على مركبته. ثم نادى الملوك المجتمعين بصوتٍ عميق كالرعد، وأعلن القاعدة التي حفظها الحكماء: أن تُعطى الفتاة في الزواج لرجلٍ جدير—بعد أن تُزيَّن بحسب الطاقة وتُقدَّم الهدايا اللائقة. وهكذا يصوّر “إعطاء العروس” بوصفه شعيرةً دهارمية تقوم على الاستحقاق واللياقة، وإن كان هو نفسه يواجه المطالبين المنافسين بالقوة.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse invokes traditional dharma regarding kanyādāna: a bride should be given to a guṇavat (worthy, virtuous) groom, with adornment and appropriate gifts according to one’s capacity—presenting marriage as a regulated ethical rite rather than mere possession or power.
Bhīṣma physically places the maidens onto his chariot and challenges the rival kings, while simultaneously justifying the situation by citing the remembered rule of the wise about giving maidens to a worthy man—blending martial action with an appeal to normative tradition.
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