Shloka 19
पराशरस्य राक्षससत्रनिवृत्तिः | Paraśara’s Rakṣasa-Satra and Its Cessation
गान्धर्वेण विवाहेन मामुपेहि वराड़ने । विवाहानां हि रम्भोरु गान्धर्व: श्रेष्ठ उच्यते,“वरांगने! गान्धर्व विवाहद्वारा तुम मुझे प्राप्त होओ। सब विवाहोंमें गान्धर्व विवाह ही श्रेष्ठ बतलाया जाता है”
gāndharveṇa vivāhena mām upehi varāṅgane | vivāhānāṃ hi rambhoru gāndharvaḥ śreṣṭha ucyate ||
The Gandharva said: “O fair-limbed lady, come to me by the Gandharva form of marriage. For, O woman of beautiful thighs, among the various kinds of marriage, the Gandharva marriage is declared the foremost.”
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates the Gandharva form of marriage—understood as a union grounded in mutual attraction and consent—presenting it as ‘foremost’ among marriage types, thereby highlighting personal choice as an ethically significant basis for marital union within the epic’s discourse.
A Gandharva addresses a woman with affectionate epithets and urges her to accept him through a Gandharva marriage, asserting its superiority among recognized forms of marriage.