Shloka 21

Matsya Purana — Devayānī–Śarmiṣṭhā Dialogue: Yayāti’s Transgression

Devanagari script

यदा त्वया वृतो राजा वृत एव तदा मया सखीभर्ता हि धर्मेण भर्ता भवति शोभने //

Transliteration

yadā tvayā vṛto rājā vṛta eva tadā mayā sakhībhartā hi dharmeṇa bhartā bhavati śobhane //

Translation

When the king has been chosen by you, he is then chosen by me as well; for, O lovely one, by the rule of dharma the husband of one’s friend becomes a husband to the other too.

Word by Word

• yadā: when

• tvayā: by you

• vṛtaḥ: chosen/selected

• rājā: the king

• vṛta eva: indeed chosen (certainly accepted)

• tadā: then

• mayā: by me

• sakhī-bhartā: the husband of a female friend

• hi: indeed/for

• dharmeṇa: according to dharma/by the law of righteousness

• bhartā: husband/protector

• bhavati: becomes

• śobhane: O beautiful one (vocative).

Speaker

• A woman addressing her female friend (sakhī) within a moral-legal narrative on marriage custom (exact character name not specified in the provided verse).

Entities Mentioned

• Rājā (the King)

Tags

• Dharma
• Marriage
• Social Custom
• Rajadharma
• Ethics

FAQs

What does this verse reveal about the creation or dissolution (Pralaya)?

Nothing directly—this verse is concerned with dharma in human relationships and marriage custom, not cosmology or pralaya.

How does this verse relate to the duties of a King or Householder?

It frames marital acceptance as governed by dharma and social obligation; by emphasizing “dharmeṇa,” it implies that household relations (and by extension royal household conduct) should align with recognized ethical-legal norms rather than impulse.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu/temple-building or ritual procedure is mentioned; the verse is primarily a dharma statement about marriage/relationship norms.