Shloka 73
Ādi-parva, Adhyāya 73: Devayānī–Śarmiṣṭhā Dispute, Confinement in the Well, and Yayāti’s Rescue
(एवमस्त्विति तां प्राह कण्वो धर्मभृतां वर: । पस्पर्श चापि पाणिभ्यां सुतां श्रीमिव रूपिणीम् ।। उस समय धर्मात्माओंमें श्रेष्ठ कण्वने उससे कहा--'एवमस्तु” (ऐसा ही हो)। यह कहकर उन्होंने मूर्तिमती लक्ष्मी-सी पुत्री शकुन्तलाका दोनों हाथोंसे स्पर्श किया और कहा। कण्व उवाच अद्यप्रभृति देवी त्वं दुष्पन्तस्य महात्मन: । पतिव्रतानां या वृत्तिस्तां वृत्तिमनुपालय ।।) कण्व बोले--बेटी! आजसे तू महात्मा राजा दुष्यन्तकी महारानी है। अतः पतिव्रता स्त्रियोंका जो बर्ताव तथा सदाचार है, उसका निरन्तर पालन कर। इति श्रीमहाभारते आदिपर्वणि सम्भवपर्वणि शकुन्तलोपाख्याने त्रिसप्ततितमोध्याय:
evam astv iti tāṃ prāha kaṇvo dharmabhṛtāṃ varaḥ | pasparśa cāpi pāṇibhyāṃ sutāṃ śrīm iva rūpiṇīm || kaṇva uvāca: adyaprabhṛti devi tvaṃ duṣyantasya mahātmanaḥ | pativratānāṃ yā vṛttis tāṃ vṛttim anupālaya ||
Kaṇva, the foremost among the upholders of dharma, said to her, “So be it.” Having spoken thus, he touched his daughter—radiant like embodied Śrī (Fortune)—with both hands in blessing. Kaṇva said: “Daughter, from today you are the queen of the great-souled King Duṣyanta. Therefore, continually maintain the conduct and disciplined way of life that belongs to devoted wives (pativratās).”
कण्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kaṇva frames marriage as a dharmic commitment: Śakuntalā is to uphold the established ethical conduct (vṛtti) of pativratā women—steadfastness, propriety, and responsibility within marital life.
Kaṇva gives his consent to Śakuntalā’s union with King Duṣyanta, blesses her by touching her with both hands, and instructs her on the expected dharmic conduct as the king’s wife.