Shloka 4

Ādi-parva, Adhyāya 73: Devayānī–Śarmiṣṭhā Dispute, Confinement in the Well, and Yayāti’s Rescue

Devanagari script

गान्धर्वेण च मां भीरु विवाहेनैहि सुन्दरि । विवाहानां हि रम्भोरु गान्धर्व: श्रेष्ठ उच्यते,भीरु! सुन्दरि! गान्धर्व विवाहके द्वारा मुझे अंगीकार करो। रम्भोरु! विवाहोंमें गान्धर्व विवाह श्रेष्ठ कहलाता है

Transliteration

gāndharveṇa ca māṃ bhīru vivāhenaihi sundari | vivāhānāṃ hi rambhoru gāndharvaḥ śreṣṭha ucyate bhīru ||

Translation

Duṣyanta said: “O timid one, O beautiful lady—accept me through a Gāndharva marriage. For, O fair-thighed one, among the forms of marriage, the Gāndharva is declared the best.” In the ethical frame of the episode, the king urges a union based on mutual consent and immediate choice, rather than one mediated by guardians or ritual arrangements.

Word by Word

गान्धर्वेणby the Gandharva (form of marriage)

चand

माम्me

भीरुO timid one

विवाहेनby marriage

एहिcome

सुन्दरिO beautiful one

विवाहानाम्of marriages

हिindeed/for

रम्भोरुO one with thighs like plantain-stems

गान्धर्वःthe Gandharva (marriage)

श्रेष्ठःbest

उच्यतेis said/is called

Speaker

दुष्यन्त उवाच

Characters & Entities

Duṣyanta

Gāndharva-vivāha

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds gāndharva-vivāha—union by mutual consent—as a recognized marriage-form, highlighting personal choice and consent as ethically significant within the broader dharma discourse on marriage.

What is happening in the narrative?

King Duṣyanta addresses the young woman with affectionate epithets and proposes that she accept him immediately through a gāndharva marriage, presenting it as the श्रेष्ठ (foremost) among marriage-forms.