Shloka 4
Ādi-parva, Adhyāya 73: Devayānī–Śarmiṣṭhā Dispute, Confinement in the Well, and Yayāti’s Rescue
गान्धर्वेण च मां भीरु विवाहेनैहि सुन्दरि । विवाहानां हि रम्भोरु गान्धर्व: श्रेष्ठ उच्यते,भीरु! सुन्दरि! गान्धर्व विवाहके द्वारा मुझे अंगीकार करो। रम्भोरु! विवाहोंमें गान्धर्व विवाह श्रेष्ठ कहलाता है
gāndharveṇa ca māṃ bhīru vivāhenaihi sundari | vivāhānāṃ hi rambhoru gāndharvaḥ śreṣṭha ucyate bhīru ||
Duṣyanta sprach: „O Scheue, o Schöne — nimm mich an durch eine Gāndharva-Ehe. Denn, o du mit den schönen Schenkeln, unter den Formen der Ehe gilt die Gāndharva als die beste.“
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds gāndharva-vivāha—union by mutual consent—as a recognized marriage-form, highlighting personal choice and consent as ethically significant within the broader dharma discourse on marriage.
King Duṣyanta addresses the young woman with affectionate epithets and proposes that she accept him immediately through a gāndharva marriage, presenting it as the श्रेष्ठ (foremost) among marriage-forms.