Shloka 13

Devanagari script

सर्वान्‌ कामयते यस्मात्‌ कमेर्धातोश्व॒ भाविनि । तस्मात्‌ कन्येह सुश्रोणि स्वतन्त्रा वरवर्णिनि,सुन्दर भाववाली कुन्ती! “कम्‌' धातुसे कन्या शब्दकी सिद्धि होती है। सुन्दरी! वह (स्वयंवरमें आये हुए) सब वरोंमेंसे किसीको भी स्वतन्त्रतापूर्वक अपनी कामनाका विषय बना सकती है; इसीलिये इस जगत्‌में उसे कन्या कहा गया है

Transliteration

sarvān kāmayate yasmāt kamer dhātoś ca bhāvini | tasmāt kanyeha suśroṇi svatantrā varavarṇini ||

Translation

Sūrya berkata: “Wahai wanita berbudi, karena ia dapat mengingini siapa pun—berasal dari akar kata kam (‘menghendaki’)—maka, wahai gadis berpinggul elok, wahai jelita, di dunia ini ia disebut ‘kanyā’. Dalam svayaṃvara, ia bebas menjadikan salah satu pelamar yang hadir sebagai pilihannya.”

Word by Word

• {'sarvān': 'all (persons), all (suitors)', 'kāmayate': 'desires, chooses, makes the object of her wish', 'yasmāt': 'because, since', 'kam (dhātu)': 'the verbal root ‘kam’—to desire, to love, to wish', 'dhātoḥ': 'from the root (verbal root)', 'ca': 'and', 'bhāvini': 'O noble/fortunate lady (vocative

• an address of respect/affection)', 'tasmāt': 'therefore', 'kanyā': 'maiden

• here explained etymologically as ‘one who may choose/desire’', 'iha': 'here, in this world', 'suśroṇi': 'O fair-hipped one (epithet of a young woman)', 'svatantrā': 'independent, free (to choose)', 'vara': 'a bridegroom

• a suitor', 'varavarṇini': 'O lovely/fair-complexioned one

Speaker

सूर्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sūrya (the Sun-god)
• kanyā (maiden/bride)
• vara (suitors)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical principle that in a svayaṃvara the maiden has svatantratā—freedom and agency—to choose among the suitors. It supports the idea that consent and personal choice are integral to a righteous marriage arrangement.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sūrya addresses a young woman with affectionate epithets and explains—through a traditional etymology (nirukti)—why she is called ‘kanyā’: because she may ‘desire/choose’ (from the root kam) any of the eligible suitors present, especially in the context of a svayaṃvara.