Shloka 2
Ādi-parva, Adhyāya 73: Devayānī–Śarmiṣṭhā Dispute, Confinement in the Well, and Yayāti’s Rescue
सुवर्णमालां वासांसि कुण्डले परिहाटके । नानापत्तनजे शुभ्रे मणिरत्ने च शोभने,सोनेके हार, सुन्दर वस्त्र, तपाये हुए सुवर्णके दो कुण्डल, विभिन्न नगरोंके बने हुए सुन्दर और चमकीले मणिरत्ननिर्मित आभूषण, स्वर्णपदक और कोमल मृगचर्म आदि वस्तुएँ तुम्हारे लिये मैं अभी लाये देता हूँ। शोभने! अधिक क्या कहूँ, मेरा सारा राज्य आजलसे तुम्हारा हो जाय, तुम मेरी महारानी बन जाओ
suvarṇamālāṃ vāsāṃsi kuṇḍale parihāṭake | nānāpattanaje śubhre maṇiratne ca śobhane ||
Duṣyanta said: “I will at once bring for you a golden garland, fine garments, and a pair of earrings of well-refined gold; also bright and auspicious jewel-ornaments fashioned in various cities—beautiful in their workmanship. O lovely one, what more need I say? Let my entire kingdom become yours today; become my chief queen.”
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights royal persuasion through generosity and the promise of status and security; ethically, it invites reflection on how power and wealth are used in courtship and how kingship (rājadharma) should align desire with rightful, socially sanctioned commitment.
King Duṣyanta, enamored, offers Śakuntalā costly ornaments and garments and goes further—promising his kingdom and proposing that she become his chief queen, intensifying his appeal from gifts to a formal royal union.