Mahabharata 1.111.20 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 111, Shloka 20
पाण्डोः तपः-प्रसङ्गः, ऋण-धर्मः, अपत्य-प्राप्ति-चिन्ता
Pāṇḍu’s Asceticism, the Doctrine of Debts, and Deliberations on Progeny
प्रादाच्च तस्यै कन्यात्वं पुन: स परमद्युति: । दत्त्वा च तपतां श्रेष्ठो दिवमाचक्रमे तत:
prādāc ca tasyai kanyātvaṃ punaḥ sa paramadyutiḥ | dattvā ca tapatāṃ śreṣṭho divam ācakrame tataḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana sprach: Der überaus Strahlende gab ihr die Jungfräulichkeit erneut zurück. Nachdem er diese Gnade gewährt hatte, zog Bhagavān Sūrya—der Beste unter denen, die mit Hitze leuchten—hinauf in den Himmel.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical concern central to dharma in the epic world: protecting a woman’s honor and future social security. The restoration of kanyātva functions as a divine remedy that prevents lasting social harm after an extraordinary event, and it also shows that a boon-giver should fulfill obligations and then withdraw without further disruption.
After an encounter with the supremely radiant Sun-god, he grants the woman a boon by restoring her maidenhood (kanyātva) and then departs to heaven. The narrator Vaiśaṃpāyana reports this as a completed divine act: boon given, consequence mitigated, deity returns to his realm.
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