Shloka 37
Adhyāya 31: Rājasūya-samāgama — The Gathering of Kings and the Ordering of Hospitality
तस्यां पुर्या तदा चैव माहिष्मत्यां कुरूद्वह । बभूवुरनतिग्राह्मा योषितश्छन्दत: किल
tasyāṃ puryāṃ tadā caiva māhiṣmatyāṃ kurūdvaha | babhūvur anatigrahmyā yoṣitaś chandataḥ kila ||
कुरुश्रेष्ठ! उस समय माहिष्मती पुरी में युवतियाँ मानो सहज में ‘ग्रहण’ करने योग्य नहीं थीं; क्योंकि वे अपनी इच्छा के अनुसार स्वयं ही वर का वरण करती थीं।
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.