Shloka 16
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 113 — Maryādā-sthāpana (Śvetaketu’s Boundary) and the Niyoga Deliberation of Pāṇḍu and Kuntī
तत् प्रगृह्म धनं सर्व शल्य: सम्प्रीतमानस: । ददौ तां समलंकृत्य स्वसारं कौरवर्षभे,वह सारा धन लेकर शल्यका चित्त प्रसन्न हो गया। उन्होंने अपनी बहिनको वस्त्राभूषणोंसे विभूषित करके राजा पाण्डुके लिये कुरुश्रेष्ठ भीष्मजीको सौंप दिया
tat pragṛhya dhanaṁ sarvaṁ śalyaḥ samprītamānasaḥ | dadau tāṁ samalaṅkṛtya svasāraṁ kauravarṣabhe ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Having accepted all the wealth, Śalya’s mind became fully pleased. Then, after adorning his sister with garments and ornaments, he entrusted her to Bhīṣma—the bull among the Kurus—for King Pāṇḍu. The episode underscores the social-ethical ideal of honoring marital alliances through gifts and proper ceremonial adornment, and of placing the bride under the guardianship of a respected elder to ensure a dharmic transfer of responsibility.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic social conduct in marriage arrangements: gifts are accepted with goodwill, the bride is ceremonially honored through adornment, and she is entrusted to a venerable guardian (Bhīṣma) for a proper and responsible marital transfer.
Śalya accepts the offered wealth, becomes pleased, adorns his sister as a bride, and formally hands her over to Bhīṣma—addressed as ‘best of the Kurus’—so that she may be given in marriage to King Pāṇḍu.