Shloka 23
Khāṇḍava-dāha: Indra’s Countermeasures and the Nāga Aśvasena’s Escape (आदि पर्व, अध्याय २१८)
वायुदेव उवाच स्वयंवर: क्षत्रियाणां विवाह: पुरुषर्षभ । स च संशयित: पार्थ स्वभावस्यानिमित्तत:,स त्वमर्जुन कल्याणीं प्रसहा् भगिनीं मम । हर स्वयंवरे हाुस्या: को वै वेद चिकीर्षितम् अत: अर्जुन! मेरी राय तो यही है कि तुम मेरी कल्याणमयी बहिनको बलपूर्वक हर ले जाओ। कौन जानता है, स्वयंवरमें उसकी क्या चेष्टा होगी--वह किसे वरण करना चाहेगी?
Vāyudeva uvāca: svayaṃvaraḥ kṣatriyāṇāṃ vivāhaḥ puruṣarṣabha | sa ca saṃśayitaḥ Pārtha svabhāvasyānimittataḥ | sa tvam Arjuna kalyāṇīṃ prasahya bhaginīṃ mama | hara svayaṃvare hāsyaḥ ko vai veda cikīrṣitam ||
Vāyudeva said: “O bull among men, for kṣatriyas the svayaṃvara is a recognized form of marriage. Yet, O Pārtha, it is uncertain—because a woman’s choice may arise from her own nature without any clear outward cause. Therefore, Arjuna, seize and carry off my auspicious sister by force from the svayaṃvara. Who can truly know what she intends to do there—whom she may wish to choose?”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a tension within kṣatriya social ethics: svayaṃvara is acknowledged as a legitimate marriage form, yet anxiety about unpredictable choice leads to advocating forcible abduction. It foregrounds how concerns about honor, uncertainty, and control can conflict with ideals of orderly, consent-based selection.
Vāyudeva addresses Arjuna, stating that while svayaṃvara is a standard kṣatriya practice, the outcome is uncertain because the woman may choose according to her own disposition. He therefore urges Arjuna to forcibly carry off Vāyudeva’s sister from the svayaṃvara, arguing that no one can know whom she intends to choose.