Shloka 83
अध्याय ७४: अक्रोध–क्षमा–निवासनीति
Chapter 74: Non-anger, Forbearance, and the Ethics of Residence
सर्वमेतत् परोक्ष॑ मे यत् त्वं वदसि तापसि । नाहं त्वामभिजानामि यथेष्टं गम्यतां त्वया,मेनका त्रिदशेष्वेव त्रिदशाश्वानु मेनकाम् | ममैवोद्रिच्यते जन्म दुष्पन्त तव जन्मन: मेनका देवताओंमें रहती है और देवता मेनकाके पीछे चलते हैं--उसका आदर करते हैं (उसी मेनकासे मेरा जन्म हुआ है); अतः महाराज दुष्यन्त! आपके जन्म और कुलसे मेरा जन्म और कुल बढ़कर है
sarvam etat parokṣaṁ me yat tvaṁ vadasi tāpasi | nāhaṁ tvām abhijānāmi yatheṣṭaṁ gamyatāṁ tvayā || menakā tridaśeṣv eva tridaśāś cānu menakām | mamaivodṛcyate janma duṣyanta tava janmanaḥ ||
Duṣyanta said: “All that you say, O ascetic woman, is beyond my direct knowledge. I do not recognize you; therefore, go wherever you wish. Menakā dwells among the gods, and the gods themselves follow after Menakā in honor. From that very Menakā I was born; therefore, O King Duṣyanta, my birth and lineage surpass your birth.”
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights an ethical tension between humility and pride: claims of superior birth or divine association are used to assert status, while the king’s refusal to recognize the speaker raises questions about responsibility, truth, and proper conduct (dharma) in interpersonal relations.
King Duṣyanta tells an ascetic woman that her statements are not within his direct knowledge and that he does not recognize her, dismissing her. In response, the speaker invokes Menakā’s divine standing among the gods and claims descent from her, asserting superiority of birth over Duṣyanta.