Shloka 74
अध्याय ७४: अक्रोध–क्षमा–निवासनीति
Chapter 74: Non-anger, Forbearance, and the Ethics of Residence
मेनका निरनुक्रोशा बन्धकी जननी तव । यया हिमवत: पृष्ठे निर्माल्यमिव चोज्झिता,दुष्यन्त बोले--शकुन्तले! मैं तुम्हारे गर्भसे उत्पन्न इस पुत्रको नहीं जानता। स्त्रियाँ प्रायः झूठ बोलनेवाली होती हैं। तुम्हारी बातपर कौन श्रद्धा करेगा? तुम्हारी माता वेश्या मेनका बड़ी क्रूरहदया है, जिसने तुम्हें हिमालयके शिखरपर निर्माल्यकी तरह उतार फेंका है इति श्रीमहाभारते आदिपर्वणि सम्भवपर्वणि शकुन्तलोपाख्याने चतु:सप्ततितमो5ध्याय:
menakā niranukrośā bandhakī jananī tava | yayā himavataḥ pṛṣṭhe nirmālyam iva cojchitā ||
Duṣyanta said: “Your mother Menakā is pitiless, a courtesan; she is the one who cast you away upon the back of Himavat, like a discarded garland.” In the ethical frame of the episode, the king’s words function as a harsh attempt to discredit Śakuntalā’s standing by attacking her birth and her mother’s character, thereby evading responsibility and undermining her claim in the royal court.
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how unethical speech—slander based on birth and gender—can be used to deny rightful responsibility. It implicitly critiques the misuse of royal authority and the moral danger of rejecting truth through insult and stigma.
In the Śakuntalā episode, Duṣyanta speaks harshly to undermine Śakuntalā’s claim by attacking her mother Menakā and recalling Śakuntalā’s abandonment on Himavat, portraying her as socially disreputable to avoid acknowledging her and her child.