Shloka 37
तस्यां पुर्या तदा चैव माहिष्मत्यां कुरूद्वह । बभूवुरनतिग्राह्मा योषितश्छन्दत: किल,कुरुश्रेष्ठ जनममेजय! उस समय माहिष्मतीपुरीमें युवती स्त्रियाँ इच्छानुसार ग्रहण करनेके योग्य नहीं रह गयी थीं (क्योंकि वे स्वतन्त्रतासे ही वरका वरण किया करती थीं)
tasyāṃ puryāṃ tadā caiva māhiṣmatyāṃ kurūdvaha | babhūvur anatigrahmyā yoṣitaś chandataḥ kila ||
કુરુશ્રેષ્ઠ! તે સમયે માહિષ્મતી નગરીમાં યુવતીઓ જાણે સહેલાઈથી ‘ગ્રહણ’ કરી શકાય તેવી ન રહી; કારણ કે તેઓ પોતાની ઇચ્છા મુજબ સ્વયં વર પસંદ કરતી હતી.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse points to an ethical-social norm: women in Māhiṣmatī exercised personal choice in selecting a husband, implying that coercive ‘taking’ or overriding consent was not acceptable or workable there. It foregrounds consent and agency within the broader dharma-discourse on marriage.
Within Vaiśampāyana’s narration to King Janamejaya, the text describes conditions in Māhiṣmatī: the young women were not ‘easily taken’ because they independently chose husbands according to their own desire, indicating a local custom or social reality relevant to the surrounding episode.