Shloka 81
तुम जो कुछ कहती हो, वह सब मेरी आँखोंके सामने नहीं हुआ है। तापसी! मैं तुम्हें नहीं पहचानता। तुम्हारी जहाँ इच्छा हो, वहीं चली जाओ
yad yad bhavatī bravīti tat sarvaṁ mama cakṣuṣoḥ purato naiva jātaṁ; tapasi! tvāṁ na vijānāmi; yatra te icchā tatraiva gaccha
Whatever you say, none of it has occurred before my eyes. O ascetic woman, I do not recognize you. Go wherever you wish.
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights a moral failure: a ruler uses the absence of ‘seen’ evidence to deny a rightful relationship and duty. It raises questions about dharma—whether responsibility depends only on public proof or also on truth, prior commitment, and the protection owed to others.
King Duṣyanta responds to the ascetic woman’s claims by saying he did not witness what she describes, refuses to recognize her, and dismisses her to go wherever she wishes—an act that, in the broader Śakuntalā episode, functions as repudiation.