Shloka 9
ययाति-देवयानी-शर्मिष्ठा विवादः — Śukra’s Curse and the Disclosure of Lineage
शर्मिष्टोवाच आसीनं च शयानं च पिता ते पितरं मम । स्तौति वन्दीव चाभीक्ष्णं नीचे: स्थित्वा विनीतवत्,शर्मिष्ठाने कहा--अरी! मेरे पिता बैठे हों या सो रहे हों, उस समय तेरा पिता विनयशील सेवकके समान नीचे खड़ा होकर बार-बार वन्दीजनोंकी भाँति उनकी स्तुति करता है
śarmiṣṭhovāca āsīnaṃ ca śayānaṃ ca pitā te pitaraṃ mama | stauti vandīva cābhīkṣṇaṃ nīceḥ sthitvā vinītavat ||
Śarmiṣṭhā said: “Whether my father is seated or lying down, your father stands below like a humble attendant and, like a court-bard, repeatedly praises my father.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how pride and contempt can weaponize social status: Śarmiṣṭhā mocks the other by pointing to her father’s deferential conduct, showing how arrogance and humiliation disrupt right conduct and relationships.
In the quarrel between the two young women, Śarmiṣṭhā taunts her rival by claiming that the rival’s father stands below and repeatedly praises Śarmiṣṭhā’s father like a bard, emphasizing perceived superiority and provoking further conflict.