Shloka 76
Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ
King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt
त्वत्संयोगाच्च दुष्येत कन््याभावो ममानघ । कन्यात्वे दूषिते वापि कथं शक्ष्ये द्विजोत्तम
tvat-saṃyogāc ca duṣyeta kanyābhāvo mamānagha | kanyātve dūṣite vāpi kathaṃ śakṣye dvijottama niṣpāpa maharṣe ||
彼女は言った。「ああ、罪なき御方よ。あなたと交われば、わたしの処女の身は汚されてしまいます。もし乙女の節が損なわれたなら、どうして家へ帰れましょう、二度生まれの最勝者よ。失われた処女の印がわたしに落ちるなら、もはや生き永らえたいとは思いません。主よ、よくお考えのうえ、正しいとお思いになることをお決めください。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical weight of social reputation and sexual propriety in the epic’s world: a woman’s perceived chastity is treated as decisive for her social standing and even her will to live, prompting an appeal to the sage’s discernment (dharma-buddhi) to find a righteous course.
A maiden, speaking to a brahmin seer, fears that any union with him will ‘taint’ her maidenhood and make returning home impossible; she expresses despair and urges him to deliberate and decide what is proper, while Vaiśampāyana frames the exchange as narrator.