Shloka 15
ययाति–शक्रसंवादः
Speech-Ethics and Forbearance in the Celestial Court
अब्रवीदुशना काव्यो देवयानीं यदावहम् | नेयमाह्नयितव्या ते शयने वार्षपर्वणी,परंतु क्या करूँ; जब मैंने देवयानीके साथ विवाह किया था, उस समय कपविपुत्र शुक्राचार्यने मुझसे स्पष्ट कहा था कि *वृषपर्वाकी पुत्री इस शर्मिष्ठाकों अपनी सेजपर न बुलाना'
abravīd uśanā kāvyo devayānīṃ yadā aham | neyam āhnayitavyā te śayane vṛṣaparvaṇī-duhitā śarmiṣṭhā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “When I married Devayānī, Uśanā Kāvya (Śukrācārya) spoke to me plainly: ‘You must not invite this Śarmiṣṭhā, the daughter of Vṛṣaparvan, onto your bed.’”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A clear marital boundary is established as a matter of dharma: the husband is instructed not to bring another woman—especially one tied to a politically sensitive relationship—into the marital bed. The verse highlights the ethical weight of pre-marital injunctions and the duty to honor trust within marriage.
In the Devayānī–Śarmiṣṭhā episode, Śukrācārya (Uśanā Kāvya) reminds the husband (contextually Yayāti) of a condition stated at the time of marriage: Śarmiṣṭhā, Vṛṣaparvan’s daughter, must not be invited to his bed. This sets up the later moral and relational conflict when that boundary is tested or violated.