Shloka 35
Chapter 2: Sudarśana Upākhyāna — Atithi-Dharma and the Conquest of Mṛtyu
Gṛhastha-Vrata
विधिना वेददृष्टेन वसोर्धारामिवाध्वरे । अग्निने वेदोक्त विधिसे राजकन्या सुदर्शनाको उसी प्रकार ग्रहण किया, जैसे वे यज्ञमें वसुधारा ग्रहण करते हैं ।। ३४ $ ।। तस्या रूपेण शीलेन कुलेन वपुषा श्रिया
vidhinā vedadṛṣṭena vasordhārām ivādhvare | agnine vedokta-vidhinā sa rāja-kanyāṁ sudarśanām auṣī tathā grahaṇam akarot || tasyā rūpeṇa śīlena kulena vapuṣā śriyā ||
Bhishma said: Following the procedure sanctioned by the Vedas, he accepted the princess Sudarshanā by the Vedic rite—just as, in a sacrifice, one duly takes the oblation called vasordhārā. Her beauty, conduct, noble lineage, bodily grace, and prosperity were all exemplary.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma as adherence to Veda-sanctioned procedure: socially and ethically valid marriage is portrayed as a sacred act performed with proper ritual order, paralleling the correct taking of an oblation in sacrifice.
Bhishma describes a princess, Sudarshanā, being accepted in marriage through the Vedic rite, likening the act to ritually receiving the vasordhārā offering in a yajña; he then begins to praise her qualities—beauty, character, lineage, and prosperity.