Shloka 31
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 98 — Paraśurāma’s kṣatriya suppression; Dīrghatamas, Bali, Sudēṣṇā, and the birth of Aṅga
तामुवाच ततो राजा सान्त्वयज्शलक्ष्णया गिरा | देवी वा दानवी वा त्वं गन्धर्वी चाथ वाप्सरा:,तब राजा शान्तनु उसे सान्त्वना देते हुए मधुर वाणीमें बोले--'सुमध्यमे! तुम देवी, दानवी, गन्धर्वी, अप्सरा, यक्षी, नागकन्या अथवा मानवी, कुछ भी क्यों न होओ; देवकन्याके समान सुशोभित होनेवाली सुन्दरी! मैं तुमसे याचना करता हूँ कि मेरी पत्नी हो जाओ'
tām uvāca tato rājā sāntvayaj-ślakṣṇayā girā | devī vā dānavī vā tvaṃ gandharvī cātha vāpsarāḥ ||
Da redete der König sie mit sanfter, beschwichtigender und feiner Stimme an: „Ob du eine Göttin bist oder eine Dämonin, eine Gandharvī oder eine Apsarā—wer immer du auch seist…“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic mode of approach: even when confronted with an unknown and potentially superhuman woman, the king uses gentle, respectful speech and seeks relationship through persuasion and consent rather than coercion—an ethical ideal of restraint and courtly propriety.
King Śāntanu, captivated by a mysterious woman by the river, speaks to her with soothing, refined words, speculating that she may belong to various celestial or non-human classes (goddess, demoness, Gandharvī, Apsarā), as he begins to request her hand in marriage.