Shloka 6
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 188 — Draupadī-Vivāha Dharma-Vicāra
Debate on the Legitimacy of One Wife for Five
अस्मिन् राजसमावाये देवानामिव संनये । किमयं सदृशं कज्चिन्नूपतिं नैव दृष्टवान्,“देवताओंके समूहकी भाँति उत्तम नीतिसे सुशोभित राजाओंके इस समुदायमें क्या इसने किसी भी नरेशको अपनी पुत्रीके योग्य नहीं देखा है?
asmin rājasamāvāye devānām iva sannaye | kim ayaṃ sadṛśaṃ kaścin nṛpatiṃ naiva dṛṣṭavān ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “In this royal assembly—resplendent with excellent polity, like a conclave of the gods—has he truly found no king at all who is a fitting match? Has he seen none worthy for his daughter?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical expectation that choices in marriage alliances and royal decisions should be guided by discernment (sadṛśatā—fitness and propriety) and respect for the collective worth of a righteous assembly, not by caprice or contempt.
In a grand gathering of kings, someone’s refusal or inability to select a suitable king is questioned: despite the assembly being as splendid as that of the gods, has he really found no ruler worthy—implicitly, no match suitable for his daughter?