Shloka 82
Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ
King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt
तेन गन्धवतीत्येवं नामास्या: प्रथितं भुवि | तस्यास्तु योजनाद् गन्धमाजिध्रन्त नरा भुवि
tena gandhavatīty evaṁ nāmāsyāḥ prathitaṁ bhuvi | tasyāstu yojanād gandham ājighranta narā bhuvi ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Thus, because of that, her name became renowned on earth as ‘Gandhavatī’—the Fragrant One. Indeed, people on earth could smell her fragrance even from a distance of a yojana, and so her extraordinary nature became widely known.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how a person’s distinctive qualities—whether natural or acquired—shape public reputation and naming. It also reflects the epic’s interest in how identity in society is formed through widely observed traits and the stories attached to them.
Vaiśampāyana explains the origin of the epithet ‘Gandhavatī’ for a woman: her fragrance was so strong that people could smell it from as far as a yojana, making the name famous throughout the world.