Shloka 11
Pāṇḍu’s Marriages, Conquests, and Triumphal Return (पाण्डोर्विवाह-विजय-प्रत्यागमनम्)
“यद्यपि मैं चाहती नहीं थी
yadyapi māṃ naiccham, tathāpi tejasā mām abalāṃ tiraskṛtya naukāyām eva māṃ sva-vaśe cakāra. tadā sa munir ghanaṃ (kuharam) utpādya sarvaṃ lokaṃ tamasāvṛtaṃ cakāra. bhārata! pūrvaṃ mama śarīrāt matsyavat paramā jugupsitā mahā-tīvrā durgandhir āgacchati sma; tāṃ apanīya muninā mahyaṃ eṣā uttamā gandhaḥ pradattā.
«Aunque yo no consentía, me sometió —a mí, una mujer sin amparo— con la fuerza de su poder ascético y me puso bajo su dominio allí mismo, en la barca. Entonces el sabio levantó una niebla espesa y cubrió toda la región con oscuridad. ¡Oh descendiente de Bharata! Antes, de mi cuerpo emanaba un hedor intensísimo, repulsivo, como de pescado; el sabio lo borró y me otorgó esta fragancia excelente.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how extraordinary power (tejas) can be used to override another’s will, raising ethical tension within the epic. It also shows how later social legitimacy and lineage narratives are intertwined with secrecy and transformation, prompting reflection on dharma when power imbalances are present.
Satyavatī recounts that the sage used his ascetic power to take control of her on a boat, concealing the act by creating fog and darkness. He then removes her former fish-like stench and grants her a pleasing fragrance, explaining her epithet and the concealment of the encounter.