Shloka 3
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 103 — Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Gāndhārī Vivāha: Proposal, Consent, and the Vow
अथ काशिपतेर्भीष्म: कन्यास्तिस््रो5प्सरोपमा: | शुश्राव सहिता राजन् वृण्वाना वै स्वयंवरम्,राजन! उन दिनों काशिराजकी तीन कन्याएँ थीं, जो अप्सराओंके समान सुन्दर थीं। भीष्मजीने सुना, वे तीनों कन्याएँ साथ ही स्वयंवर-सभामें पतिका वरण करनेवाली हैं
atha kāśipater bhīṣmaḥ kanyās tisro 'psaropamāḥ | śuśrāva sahitā rājan vṛṇvānā vai svayaṃvaram ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana sprach: Da vernahm Bhīṣma, o König, dass der Herr von Kāśī drei Töchter habe, schön wie Apsaras, und dass alle drei gemeinsam im Svayaṃvara ihre Gatten wählen würden.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how royal marriages functioned as public, political, and dharmic institutions: beauty and choice are acknowledged (svayaṃvara), yet the larger narrative will test the tension between personal agency and kṣatriya duty.
Vaiśaṃpāyana reports that Bhīṣma learns the king of Kāśī’s three daughters—famed for their beauty—are about to hold a joint svayaṃvara to choose husbands, which prompts Bhīṣma’s subsequent actions in the story.