Shloka 44
समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः
Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī
ततः स्वयंवरो देव्या: पाज्चाल्या: पर्व चोच्यते । क्षात्रधर्मेण निर्जित्य ततो वैवाहिकं स्मृतम्,उसके बाद पांचालराजकुमारी देवी द्रौपदीके स्वयंवरपर्वका तथा क्षत्रियधर्मसे सब राजाओंपर विजय-प्राप्तिपूर्वक वैवाहिकपर्वका वर्णन है
tataḥ svayaṃvaro devyāḥ pāñcālyāḥ parva cocyate | kṣātradharmeṇa nirjitya tato vaivāhikaṃ smṛtam ||
Thereafter is narrated the episode of the princess Pāñcālī’s svayaṃvara; and, having overcome the assembled kings in accordance with the kṣatriya code, the account proceeds to the marriage rites and the wedding episode.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links power, competition, and alliance to dharma: conquest must be pursued through the accepted kṣatriya code, and the resulting union must be regularized through proper marriage rites. It presents ethical legitimacy—right means and right social form—as essential to royal action.
The text signals a transition in the epic’s outline: it announces the forthcoming narration of Draupadī (Pāñcālī)’s svayaṃvara episode, followed by the defeat of rival kings according to warrior custom, and then the subsequent wedding/marriage episode (vaivāhika).