Shloka 12

Ādi-parva, Adhyāya 73: Devayānī–Śarmiṣṭhā Dispute, Confinement in the Well, and Yayāti’s Rescue

Devanagari script

पैशाच आसुरश्चैव न कर्तव्यौ कदाचन । अनेन विधिना कार्यो धर्मस्यैषा गति: स्मृता,पैशाच और आसुर विवाह कदापि करनेयोग्य नहीं हैं। इस विधिके अनुसार विवाह करना चाहिये। यह धर्मका मार्ग बताया गया है

Transliteration

paiśāca āsuraś caiva na kartavyau kadācana | anena vidhinā kāryo dharmasyaiṣā gatiḥ smṛtā ||

Translation

Duṣyanta dit : « Les formes Paiśāca et Āsura ne doivent jamais être pratiquées. Qu’on ne se marie que selon cette règle juste : telle est, dit-on, la voie droite du dharma. »

Word by Word

paiśācaḥthe Paiśāca (type of marriage)

āsuraḥthe Āsura (type of marriage)

caand

evaindeed/just

nanot

kartavyauto be done/should be performed

kadācanaever/at any time

anenaby this/with this

vidhināby the rule/method

kāryaḥshould be done/ought to be performed

dharmaof dharma/righteousness

eṣāthis

gatiḥpath/course

smṛtāis remembered/has been declared

Speaker

दुष्यन्त उवाच

Characters & Entities

द

दुष्यन्त (Duṣyanta)

प

पैशाच-विवाह (Paiśāca marriage)

आ

आसुर-विवाह (Āsura marriage)

ध

धर्म (Dharma)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that certain socially and ethically condemned forms of marriage—Paiśāca and Āsura—must not be practiced, and that marriage should follow a proper, dharmic procedure recognized by tradition (smṛti).

What is happening in the narrative?

Duṣyanta is articulating a normative dharma-based judgment about acceptable and unacceptable marriage forms, emphasizing that one should adhere to the sanctioned method rather than resorting to blameworthy alternatives.