Shloka 31
तामुवाच ततो राजा सान्त्वयज्शलक्ष्णया गिरा | देवी वा दानवी वा त्वं गन्धर्वी चाथ वाप्सरा:,तब राजा शान्तनु उसे सान्त्वना देते हुए मधुर वाणीमें बोले--'सुमध्यमे! तुम देवी, दानवी, गन्धर्वी, अप्सरा, यक्षी, नागकन्या अथवा मानवी, कुछ भी क्यों न होओ; देवकन्याके समान सुशोभित होनेवाली सुन्दरी! मैं तुमसे याचना करता हूँ कि मेरी पत्नी हो जाओ'
tām uvāca tato rājā sāntvayaj-ślakṣṇayā girā | devī vā dānavī vā tvaṃ gandharvī cātha vāpsarāḥ ||
Then the king addressed her in a gentle, soothing, and refined voice: “Whether you are a goddess or a demoness, a Gandharvī or an Apsarā—whoever you may be.” In the narrative context, King Śāntanu’s speech frames desire within the etiquette of royal conduct: he approaches the mysterious woman with courtesy and persuasion rather than force, acknowledging her possibly superhuman nature while seeking consent and alliance through marriage.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic mode of approach: even when confronted with an unknown and potentially superhuman woman, the king uses gentle, respectful speech and seeks relationship through persuasion and consent rather than coercion—an ethical ideal of restraint and courtly propriety.
King Śāntanu, captivated by a mysterious woman by the river, speaks to her with soothing, refined words, speculating that she may belong to various celestial or non-human classes (goddess, demoness, Gandharvī, Apsarā), as he begins to request her hand in marriage.