Shloka 18
ययातिः शर्मिष्ठायाः ऋतुप्रार्थनां धर्मसंवादं च शृणोति
Yayāti and Śarmiṣṭhā: request in ṛtu and discourse on truth and dharma
आर्ष धर्म ब्रुवाणो5हं देवयानि यथा त्वया । शप्तो नाहोंडस्मि शापस्य कामतोडद्य न धर्मत:,बहिन! मैं आर्ष धर्मकी बात बता रहा था। इस दशामें तुम्हारे द्वारा शाप पानेके योग्य नहीं था। तुमने मुझे धर्मके अनुसार नहीं, कामके वशीभूत होकर आज शाप दिया है, इसलिये तुम्हारे मनमें जो कामना है, वह पूरी नहीं होगी। कोई भी ऋषिपुत्र (ब्राह्मणकुमार) कभी तुम्हारा पाणिग्रहण नहीं करेगा
ārṣaṃ dharmaṃ bruvāṇo 'haṃ devayāni yathā tvayā | śapto nāhaṃ 'smi śāpasya kāmato 'dya na dharmataḥ ||
Kacha said: “Devayānī, I was speaking the ancient, rishi-sanctioned law of dharma. I was not in a condition deserving a curse from you. Today you have cursed me not in accordance with dharma, but under the sway of desire; therefore the wish that is in your heart will not be fulfilled—no son of a ṛṣi, no Brahmin youth, will ever take your hand in marriage.”
कच उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts dharma-guided judgment with actions driven by kāma (desire). A curse uttered from passion rather than ethical discernment is portrayed as morally flawed and rebounds by frustrating the curser’s own aims.
Kacha responds to Devayānī after being cursed by her. He asserts he was speaking according to venerable dharma and was not deserving of a curse; since her curse arose from desire, he counters with a pronouncement that her marital wish will fail—no rishi-born Brahmin youth will marry her.