Shloka 7
ययाति–शक्रसंवादः
Speech-Ethics and Forbearance in the Celestial Court
(शुद्धा स्नाता तु शर्मिष्ठा सर्वालंकारभूषिता । अशोकशाखामालम्ब्य सुफुल्लै: स्तबकैर्व॑ताम् ।। आदर्शे मुखमुद्वीक्ष्य भर्तृदर्शनलालसा । शोकमोहसमाविष्टा वचनं चेदमब्रवीत् ।। अशोक शोकापनुद शोकोपहतचेतसाम् । त्वज्नामानं कुरु क्षिप्रं प्रियसंदर्शनाद्धि माम् ।। एवमुक्तवती सा तु शर्मिष्ठा पुनरब्रवीत् ।।) स्नान करके शुद्ध हो समस्त आभूषणोंसे विभूषित हुई शर्मिष्ठा सुन्दर पुष्पोंके गुच्छोंसे भरी अशोक-शाखाका आश्रय लिये खड़ी थी। दर्पणमें अपना मुँह देखकर उसके मनमें पतिके दर्शनकी लालसा जाग उठी और वह शोक एवं मोहसे युक्त हो इस प्रकार बोली-- हे अशोक वृक्ष! जिनका हृदय शोकमें डूबा हुआ है, उन सबके शोकको तुम दूर करनेवाले हो। इस समय मुझे प्रियतमका दर्शन कराकर अपने ही जैसे नामवाली बना दो' ऐसा कहकर शर्मिष्ठा फिर बोली-- । ऋतुकालश्व सम्प्राप्तो न च मे5स्ति पतिर्वृत: । किं प्राप्तं कि नु कर्तव्यं कि वा कृत्वा कृतं भवेत्,“मुझे ऋतुकाल प्राप्त हो गया; किंतु अभीतक मैंने पतिका वरण नहीं किया है। यह कैसी परिस्थिति आ गयी। अब क्या करना चाहिये अथवा क्या करनेसे सुकृत (पुण्य) होगा
śuddhā snātā tu śarmiṣṭhā sarvālaṅkārabhūṣitā | aśokaśākhāmālambya suphullaiḥ stabakair vṛtām || ādarśe mukham udvīkṣya bhartṛdarśanalālasā | śokamohasamāviṣṭā vacanaṃ cedam abravīt || aśoka śokāpanuda śokopahatacetasām | tvajñāmānaṃ kuru kṣipraṃ priyasaṃdarśanād dhi mām || evam uktavatī sā tu śarmiṣṭhā punar abravīt || ṛtukālaś ca samprāpto na ca me 'sti patir vṛtaḥ | kiṃ prāptaṃ kiṃ nu kartavyaṃ kiṃ vā kṛtvā kṛtaṃ bhavet ||
Having bathed and become pure, Śarmiṣṭhā stood adorned with every ornament, leaning upon a branch of the aśoka tree thick with clusters of fully blossomed flowers. Looking at her face in a mirror, longing to behold her husband, and overwhelmed by grief and confusion, she spoke: “O Aśoka, dispeller of sorrow for those whose hearts are struck by sorrow—quickly make me true to your own name by granting me the sight of my beloved.” Having said this, Śarmiṣṭhā again spoke: “The season of fertility has arrived, yet I have not chosen a husband. What situation is this that has come upon me? What should be done now, or what deed would count as truly done—bringing merit and right order?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames an ethical tension between natural desire (ṛtukāla, longing for union) and dharma (rightful marriage and proper choice). Śarmiṣṭhā’s grief and confusion highlight that desire without lawful social/ethical grounding leads to inner turmoil; the implied ideal is to seek a rightful, dharmic resolution rather than act from moha.
Vaiśampāyana describes Śarmiṣṭhā after bathing and adorning herself. Standing by a flowering aśoka branch and looking into a mirror, she longs to see her husband/beloved and addresses the aśoka tree as a remover of sorrow. She then laments that her fertile season has arrived but she has not secured a husband, asking what should be done and what action would be truly meritorious and proper.