Shloka 10
अथवा धर्ममेतं त्वं मन्यसे तपतां वर । ऋते प्रदानाद् बन्धुभ्यस्तव काम॑ करोम्यहम्,अथवा तपनेवालोंमें श्रेष्ठ दिवाकर! यदि बन्धुजनोंके दिये बिना ही मेरे साथ अपने समागमको आप धर्मयुक्त समझते हों तो मैं आपकी इच्छा पूर्ण कर सकती हूँ
athavā dharmam etaṃ tvaṃ manyase tapatāṃ vara | ṛte pradānād bandhubhyas tava kāmaṃ karomy aham ||
Or, O best among ascetics, if you regard this as righteous—namely, union with me even without the formal giving by my kinsmen—then I will fulfill your desire. The speaker frames consent and union within the contested boundaries of dharma, questioning whether legitimacy depends upon familial sanction or upon the parties’ own understanding of righteousness.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse probes how dharma is determined in intimate and socially regulated acts: is an action righteous because it follows formal social procedures (such as kin-based bestowal), or can it be justified by an alternative understanding of righteousness grounded in personal intent and consent?
Within Vaiśampāyana’s narration, a woman addresses an ascetic figure, proposing that if he considers union without her relatives’ formal consent to be dharmic, she is willing to fulfill his wish—highlighting tension between personal choice and customary legitimacy.