Shloka 43
Aṃśāvataraṇa-kathana (Catalog of Divine/Asuric Portions in Human Births) — Chapter 61
(तीर्थयात्रां च कृतवान् नागकन्यामवाप्य च । पाण्ड्यस्य तनयां लब्ध्वा तत्र ताभ्यां सहोषित: ।।) ततो5गच्छद्धृषीकेशं द्वारवत्यां कदाचन । लब्धवांस्तत्र बी भत्सुर्भार्या राजीवलोचनाम्
tīrthayātrāṃ ca kṛtavān nāgakanyām avāpya ca | pāṇḍyasya tanayāṃ labdhvā tatra tābhyāṃ sahoṣitaḥ || tato 'gacchad dhṛṣīkeśaṃ dvāravatyāṃ kadācana | labdhavāṃs tatra bībhatsur bhāryāṃ rājīvalocanām ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: Nachdem er eine Pilgerfahrt zu den heiligen Furten (tīrtha) unternommen und eine Nāga-Jungfrau gewonnen hatte, errang er auch die Tochter des Pāṇḍya-Königs und verweilte dort eine Zeitlang mit beiden. Dann begab er sich eines Tages zu Hṛṣīkeśa nach Dvāravatī; und dort gewann der furchterregende Bībhatsu die lotosäugige Prinzessin zur Gemahlin.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames a kṣatriya hero’s life as guided by dharma through tīrthayātrā (religious discipline and purification) and socially sanctioned alliances (marriage), showing how personal conduct, piety, and political relationships intertwine in epic ethics.
After completing a pilgrimage and living for some time with two wives—one a Nāga maiden and the other the Pāṇḍya king’s daughter—Arjuna later goes to Dvāravatī to meet Kṛṣṇa (Hṛṣīkeśa), and there he gains another lotus-eyed bride.