Shloka 11
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 98 — Paraśurāma’s kṣatriya suppression; Dīrghatamas, Bali, Sudēṣṇā, and the birth of Aṅga
स््नुषा मे भव सुश्रोणि पुत्रार्थ त्वां वृणोम्यहम् । स्नुषापक्षं हि वामोरु त्वमागम्य समाश्रिता,सुश्रोणि! तुम मेरी पुत्रवधू हो जाओ। मैं अपने पुत्रके लिये तुम्हारा वरण करता हूँ; क्योंकि वामोरु! तुमने यहाँ आकर मेरी उसी जाँघका आश्रय लिया है, जो पुत्रवधूके पक्षकी है
pratīpa uvāca |
snuṣā me bhava suśroṇi putrārthaṁ tvāṁ vṛṇomy aham |
snuṣāpakṣaṁ hi vāmoru tvam āgamya samāśritā ||
Pratīpa sprach: „O Frau mit schönen Hüften, werde meine Schwiegertochter; um meines Sohnes willen wähle ich dich. Denn, o Frau mit schönen Schenkeln, du bist hierher gekommen und hast Zuflucht an der Seite meines Schenkels genommen, die für eine Schwiegertochter bestimmt ist.“
प्रतीप उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma as social propriety: Pratīpa interprets the woman’s act of taking refuge on a particular side of his thigh according to accepted custom, and responds by proposing a relationship that preserves moral and dynastic order—seeking a bride for his son rather than acting from personal desire.
King Pratīpa addresses a mysterious, beautiful woman who has approached him and sat by/leaned upon his thigh. Reading this gesture as a sign associated with a daughter-in-law’s place, he declares that she should become his son’s wife and that he chooses her for his son.