Shloka 27
Ādi-parva, Adhyāya 73: Devayānī–Śarmiṣṭhā Dispute, Confinement in the Well, and Yayāti’s Rescue
क्षत्रियस्य हि गान्धर्वो विवाह: श्रेष्ठ उच्चते । सकामाया: सकामेन निर्मन्त्रो रहसि स्मृत:,'क्षत्रियके लिये गान्धर्व विवाह श्रेष्ठ कहा गया है। स्त्री और पुरुष दोनों एक दूसरेको चाहते हों, उस दशामें उन दोनोंका एकान्तमें जो मन्त्रहीन सम्बन्ध स्थापित होता है, उसे गान्धर्व विवाह कहा गया है
kṣatriyasya hi gāndharvo vivāhaḥ śreṣṭha ucyate | sakāmāyāḥ sakāmena nirmantro rahasi smṛtaḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: For a kṣatriya, the Gāndharva form of marriage is declared the best. When a woman who desires and a man who desires unite privately, without the recitation of mantras or formal rites, that union is remembered as the Gāndharva marriage.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines the Gāndharva form of marriage as a mutually desired union—private and without ritual mantras—and notes it as especially appropriate (even praised as foremost) for kṣatriyas, highlighting consent-based union within a dharma framework.
Vaiśaṃpāyana pauses the story to give a dharma-style definition of a recognized marriage form, explaining what constitutes a Gāndharva marriage and for whom it is considered best.