Shloka 12

Devanagari script

कथं हास्मद्विधो जातु जानन्‌ धर्मविनिश्चयम्‌ । परहस्तगतां नारीं मुहूर्तमपि धारयेत्‌,“धर्मके सिद्धान्तको जाननेवाला मेरे-जैसा कोई भी पुरुष दूसरेके हाथमें पड़ी हुई नारीको मुहूर्तभरके लिये भी कैसे ग्रहण कर सकता है?

Transliteration

kathaṁ hāsmadvidho jātu jānan dharmaviniścayam | parahastagatāṁ nārīṁ muhūrtam api dhārayet ||

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya said: “How could a man like me—one who understands the settled conclusion of dharma—ever hold, even for a single moment, a woman who has come under another’s protection and control?”

Word by Word

कथम्how?

हindeed/for emphasis

अस्मद्विधःone like me

जातुever/at any time

जानन्knowing

धर्मविनिश्चयम्the ascertainment/decision of dharma

परहस्तगताम्gone into another's hand (belonging to another)

नारीम्a woman

मुहूर्तम्for a moment (a muhūrta)

अपिeven/also

धारयेत्should hold/keep/accept

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A person who truly knows dharma must practice strict restraint: it is unethical to appropriate or even entertain possession of a woman who is under another’s rightful protection or marital/guardianship bond.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya speaks in a moralizing context, rejecting the very possibility of keeping a woman who belongs to another’s custody, emphasizing his dharma-knowledge as the reason for immediate refusal.