Shloka 19
Sukanyā’s Encounter with the Aśvins and Cyavana’s Rejuvenation (लोमश–सुकन्या–च्यवनोपाख्यानम्)
तेडब्रुवन् सहिता: सर्वे वृणीष्वान्यतमं शुभे । अस्माकमीप्सितं भद्रे पतित्वे वरवर्णिनि,सरोवरसे बाहर आकर उन सबने एक साथ कहा--'शुभे! भद्रे! वरवर्णिनि! हममेंसे किसी एकको जो तुम्हारी रुचिके अनुकूल हो, अपना पति बना लो
te ’bruvan sahitāḥ sarve vṛṇīṣvānyatamaṃ śubhe | asmākam īpsitaṃ bhadre patitve varavarṇini ||
فقالوا جميعًا بصوتٍ واحد: «يا ذاتَ اليُمن، يا رقيقةَ الطبع، يا حسناءَ اللون—اختاري من بيننا من تشائين، على وفق هواكِ، ليكون زوجَكِ. فهذا ما نبتغيه».
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral tension between collective desire and individual choice: marriage is presented as something that should involve the woman’s selection (“choose according to your liking”), yet the pressure of a united group also raises ethical questions about coercion versus genuine consent within social expectations.
A group of men, acting together, addresses a woman with honorific epithets and urges her to select one of them as her husband. The moment functions as a narrative test of choice, propriety, and the dharmic handling of marriage proposals.