Shloka 11
आत्मप्रदानं दुधर्ष तव कृत्वा सती त्वहम् । त्वयि धर्मो यशश्रैव कीर्तिरायुश्व देहिनाम्,दुर्धर्ष देव! क्या मैं आपको आत्मदान करके भी सती-साध्वी रह सकती हूँ? आपमें ही देहधारियोंके धर्म, यश, कीर्ति तथा आयु प्रतिष्ठित हैं
ātmapradānaṃ dudharṣa tava kṛtvā satī tv aham | tvayi dharmo yaśaś caiva kīrtir āyuś ca dehinām ||
“O invincible one, if I were to offer myself to you—could I still remain a chaste and faithful wife? For in you alone are established the dharma, honor, fame, and even the lifespan of embodied beings.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical tension between personal surrender and marital fidelity, asserting that true dharma and the goods of life (honor, fame, longevity) ultimately depend on the divine or supreme moral foundation addressed as ‘invincible’.
A woman-speaker (reported by Vaiśampāyana) addresses an invincible divine figure, questioning whether offering herself would compromise her status as a satī, while simultaneously acknowledging that all moral and social goods for embodied beings rest in that being.