Shloka 3
Śikhaṇḍinī’s Marriage Arrangement and the Daśārṇa Envoy’s Accusation (शिखण्डिनी-विवाह-विप्रलम्भ-प्रसङ्गः)
त्वया चैव नरश्रेष्ठ तन्मे प्रीत्यानुमोदितम् । पुत्रकर्म कृतं चैव कन्याया: पार्थिवर्षभ,“नरश्रेष्ठ आपने भी प्रेमवश मेरे इस कथनका अनुमोदन किया और महाराज! कन्या होनेपर भी आपने इसका पुत्रोचित संस्कार किया
tvayā caiva naraśreṣṭha tan me prītyānumoditam | putrakarma kṛtaṃ caiva kanyāyāḥ pārthivarṣabha ||
Bhishma said: “O best of men, you too, out of affection, approved what I had said. And O bull among kings, though she was a maiden, you performed for her the rites and duties that are ordinarily done for a son.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma as adaptable in practice: when circumstances require, a ruler may honor duty and lineage through a daughter by granting her roles normally reserved for a son, especially when done with affectionate consent and social acknowledgment.
Bhishma addresses a king respectfully, noting that the king agreed with Bhishma’s earlier counsel and then carried it out by performing ‘son-like’ rites or responsibilities for a maiden, treating her as fulfilling the function of an heir.