Shloka 6
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 34 — Vidura’s Counsel on Deliberation, Speech-Discipline, and Dharmic Kingship
स्वयंवरे स्थिता कन्या केशिनी नाम नामतः । रूपेणाप्रतिमा राजन् विशिष्टपतिकाम्यया
svayaṃvare sthitā kanyā keśinī nāma nāmataḥ | rūpeṇāpratimā rājan viśiṣṭa-pati-kāmyayā ||
Vidura berkata: “Wahai Raja, pada suatu ketika ada seorang gadis bernama Keśinī yang hadir di balai svayaṃvara. Kecantikannya tiada banding, dan ia datang dengan hasrat memilih suami yang paling unggul.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the dharmic ideal that marriage—especially among rulers—should be guided by merit and worthiness (viśiṣṭa-pati), not merely by impulse or power. It frames choice as ethically oriented toward excellence and suitability.
Vidura begins an illustrative account: a uniquely beautiful maiden named Keśinī appears in a svayaṃvara assembly, intending to select the best possible husband. This sets up a moral or political exemplum within Vidura’s counsel to the king.