Shloka 16
Raivataka-giri Mahotsava and the Counsel on Subhadrā’s Marriage (रैवतके महोत्सवः — सुभद्राविवाहोपायविचारः)
मम भार्या तव गुरुरिति सुन्दो5भ्यभाषत । मम भार्या तव वधूरुपसुन्दो5भ्यभाषत,सुन्दने कहा--“अरे! यह मेरी पत्नी है, तुम्हारे लिये माताके समान है।' यह सुनकर उपसुन्द बोल उठा--“नहीं-नहीं, यह मेरी भार्या है, तुम्हारे लिये तो पुत्रवधूके समान है!
mama bhāryā tava gurur iti sundo 'bhyabhāṣata | mama bhāryā tava vadhūr upasundo 'bhyabhāṣata |
Nārada said: Sunda declared, “She is my wife; therefore she is your guru, to be revered like a mother.” Upasunda retorted, “She is my wife; therefore she is your daughter-in-law.” Thus each brother sought to claim the same woman by redefining kinship through social and ethical hierarchy—showing how desire can warp dharma and turn even family ties into weapons of argument.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how attachment and lust can manipulate ethical language: instead of protecting dharma, the brothers weaponize social categories (guru/mother-like reverence vs. daughter-in-law) to justify possession. It warns that when desire dominates, even kinship norms become tools for conflict and adharma.
In Nārada’s narration of the Sunda–Upasunda episode, the two brothers dispute over the same woman. Sunda claims she is his wife and therefore must be revered by Upasunda like a guru (mother). Upasunda counters that she is his wife and therefore Sunda should regard her as his daughter-in-law. Their competing claims escalate the quarrel.