Shloka 123
अध्याय ७४: अक्रोध–क्षमा–निवासनीति
Chapter 74: Non-anger, Forbearance, and the Ethics of Residence
(ब्राह्मणा: क्षत्रिया वैश्या: शूद्राश्वैव पृथग्विधा: । त्वां देवि पूजयिष्यन्ति निर्विशड्कं पतिव्रताम् ।।) “देवि! तुम नि:संदेह पतिव्रता हो। ब्राह्मण, क्षत्रिय, वैश्य और शूद्र--ये सभी पृथक्- पृथक् तुम्हारा पूजन (समादर) करेंगे। मन्यते चैव लोकस्ते स्त्रीभावान्मयि संगतम् | पुत्रश्नचायं वृतो राज्ये मया तस्माद् विचारितम्,“यदि इस प्रकार तुम्हारी शुद्धि न होती तो लोग यही समझते कि तुमने स्त्री-स्वभावके कारण कामवश मुझसे सम्बन्ध स्थापित कर लिया और मैंने भी कामके अधीन होकर ही तुम्हारे पुत्रको राज्यपर बिठानेकी प्रतिज्ञा कर ली। हम दोनोंके धार्मिक सम्बन्धपर किसीका विश्वास नहीं होता; इसीलिये यह उपाय सोचा गया था
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
brāhmaṇāḥ kṣatriyā vaiśyāḥ śūdrāś caiva pṛthagvidhāḥ |
tvāṃ devi pūjayiṣyanti nirviśaṅkaṃ pativratām ||
manyate caiva lokas te strībhāvān mayi saṅgatam |
putraś cāyaṃ vṛto rājye mayā tasmād vicāritam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O goddess, you are beyond doubt a faithful wife. Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras—each in their own way—will honor you without suspicion as a devoted wife. For otherwise, people would think that, driven by a woman’s impulse, you entered into a liaison with me, and that I too, under the sway of desire, resolved to place this son upon the throne. Since trust in the righteousness of our bond would not arise, this course was therefore devised.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how dharma is not only personal conduct but also public credibility: ensuring that a relationship and a political decision (installing a son in kingship) are seen as righteous, not as products of desire or impropriety.
The speaker explains that the woman’s status as a pativratā will be publicly affirmed—honored by all varṇas—so that society will not suspect an illicit liaison or interpret the decision to place her son on the throne as motivated by passion rather than dharma.