Shloka 67
अध्याय ७४: अक्रोध–क्षमा–निवासनीति
Chapter 74: Non-anger, Forbearance, and the Ethics of Residence
मृगावकृष्टेन पुरा मृगयां परिधावता । अहमासादिता राजन् कुमारी पितुराश्रमे,जैसे गार्हपत्य अग्निसे आहवनीय अग्निका प्रणयन (प्राकट्य) होता है, उसी प्रकार यह बालक आपसे उत्पन्न हुआ है, मानो आप एक होकर भी अब दो रूपोंमें प्रकट हो गये हैं। राजन! आजसे कुछ वर्ष पहले आप शिकार खेलने वनमें गये थे। वहाँ एक हिंसक पशुके पीछे आकृष्ट हो आप दौड़ते हुए मेरे पिताजीके आश्रमपर पहुँच गये, जहाँ मुझ कुमारी कन्याको आपने गान्धर्व विवाहद्वारा पत्नीरूपमें प्राप्त किया
mṛgāvakṛṣṭena purā mṛgayāṃ paridhāvatā | aham āsāditā rājan kumārī pitur āśrame ||
Duṣyanta said: “O King, once, while you were hunting and running in pursuit, drawn onward by a deer, you came to my father’s hermitage. There you encountered me, a maiden, and took me as your wife by the Gandharva form of marriage. From you this child has been born—just as the āhavanīya fire is brought forth from the gārhapatya fire—so it is as though you, though one, have now appeared in two forms.”
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores dharma in family and kingship: a ruler must acknowledge rightful relationships and responsibility for offspring. The fire-analogy frames the child’s legitimacy as a lawful emergence from the father, emphasizing continuity, duty, and ethical accountability rather than denial or convenience.
Duṣyanta is reminded of the earlier encounter at Kaṇva’s hermitage during a hunt, where he accepted the maiden (Śakuntalā) in a Gandharva marriage. The statement links that past event to the present child, asserting paternity and urging recognition through a Vedic ritual analogy (gārhapatya to āhavanīya fire).