Shloka 17
ययातेर्वानप्रस्थतपःस्वर्गारोहणम् | Yayāti’s Vānaprastha Austerities and Ascent to Heaven
देवयान्युवाच द्वाभ्यां कन्न्यासहस्राभ्यां दास्या शर्मिछ्ठया सह । त्वदधीनास्मि भद्रें ते सखा भर्ता च मे भव,देवयानीने कहा--राजन! आपका कल्याण हो। मैं दो हजार कन््याओं तथा अपनी सेविका शर्मिष्ठाके साथ आपके अधीन होती हूँ। आप मेरे सखा और पति हो जायेँ
devayāny uvāca—dvābhyāṁ kanyāsahasrābhyāṁ dāsyā śarmiṣṭhayā saha | tvad-adhīnāsmi bhadre te sakhā bhartā ca me bhava ||
Devayānī said: “With two thousand maidens, and together with my handmaid Śarmiṣṭhā, I place myself under your protection. O king, may you be blessed—be to me both companion and husband.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames marriage as a dharmic bond of protection and companionship: Devayānī seeks lawful shelter under the king, asking him to become both friend and husband, highlighting the king’s duty to protect those who submit to his care.
Devayānī addresses the king (Yayāti) and declares her dependence on him, offering herself along with a large retinue of maidens and her attendant Śarmiṣṭhā, and requests that he accept her as his wife and companion.