Shloka 20
अक्षद्यूतप्रवेशः — Kali’s Entry and the Initiation of the Dice-Contest
त्वं चैव हि नरश्रेष्ठ देवाश्रैन्द्रपुरोगमा: । आयान्तु सहिता: सर्वे मम यत्र स्वयंवर:,“नरश्रेष्ठी] आप और इन्द्र आदि सब देवता एक ही साथ उस रंगमण्डपमें पधारें, जहाँ मेरा स्वयंवर होनेवाला है
tvaṃ caiva hi naraśreṣṭha devāś ca indrapurogamāḥ | āyāntu sahitāḥ sarve mama yatra svayaṃvaraḥ ||
O best of men, you too—and all the gods led by Indra—should come together to the place where my svayaṃvara is to be held. Let the entire assembly arrive in unity, for there my choice of husband will be made in the presence of the foremost beings.
बृहदश्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the public, accountable nature of major life-decisions in dharmic society: a svayaṃvara is to be witnessed by the worthy—ideally even by divine and royal authorities—so that the choice is validated by communal and moral order rather than private impulse.
Bṛhadaśva conveys an invitation: the addressed hero (called ‘best of men’) and the gods led by Indra are asked to come together to the venue where the speaker’s svayaṃvara will take place, emphasizing a grand, formally witnessed event.