Shloka 4
Śikhaṇḍinī’s Marriage Arrangement and the Daśārṇa Envoy’s Accusation (शिखण्डिनी-विवाह-विप्रलम्भ-प्रसङ्गः)
भार्या चोढा त्वया राजन् दशार्णाधिपते: सुता । मया च प्रत्यभिह्ितं देववाक्यार्थदर्शनात् । कन्या भूत्वा पुमान् भावीत्येवं चैतदुपेक्षितम्
bhāryā coḍhā tvayā rājan daśārṇādhipateḥ sutā | mayā ca pratyabhihitaṃ devavākyārthadarśanāt | kanyā bhūtvā pumān bhāvīty evaṃ caitad upekṣitam ||
Bhīṣma sprach: «O König, im Vertrauen auf mein Wort hast du die Tochter des Herrn von Daśārṇa herbeigeholt, um sie ihm zur Gattin zu geben. Und ich, den wahren Sinn des göttlichen Ausspruchs vor Augen, hatte verkündet, dieses Kind werde ein Sohn sein. Denn der Segen des Herrn hatte gesprochen: “Zuerst wird sie eine Jungfrau sein, dann wird sie ein Mann werden.” Darum hat man diese gegenwärtige Krise früher übergangen.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma highlights ethical responsibility in counsel: decisions made on authoritative testimony (his own and a divine boon) must be owned when consequences arise. He also stresses careful interpretation of sacred or divine statements (devavākya-artha) rather than superficial reading, since policy and marriage alliances were shaped by that interpretation.
Bhishma reminds the king that the Daśārṇa princess was accepted in marriage based on Bhishma’s assurance, grounded in a boon of Mahādeva: the child would be born female and later become male. Because of this expectation, the potential problem was ignored earlier; now, with a crisis at hand, Bhishma explains the prior reasoning and the source of the assurance.