Mahabharata 1.78.37 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 78, Shloka 37
ययाति-देवयानी-शर्मिष्ठा विवादः — Śukra’s Curse and the Disclosure of Lineage
(उक्ताप्येवं भृशं क्रुद्धा मां गृह विजने वने । कूपे प्रक्षेपयामास प्रक्षिप्यैव गृहं ययौ ।।
uktāpy evaṁ bhṛśaṁ kruddhā māṁ gṛhe vijane vane | kūpe prakṣepayāmāsa prakṣipyaiva gṛhaṁ yayau ||
śukra uvāca | stuvato duhitā na tvaṁ yācataḥ pratigṛhṇataḥ | astotuḥ stūyamānasya duhitā devayāny asi ||
それでもなお、シャルミシュターは激しい怒りに駆られ、住まい近くの人けなき森で私を捕らえ、井戸へと突き落とした。投げ入れると、彼女は家へ帰ってしまった。するとシュクラは言った。「デーヴァヤーニーよ、そなたはへつらい、乞い、贈り物を受け取る者の娘ではない。そなたは清浄なるブラーフマナの娘——利のために誰かを讃えることなく、むしろ万人に讃えられる者の娘なのだ。」
शुक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Śukra asserts an ethical ideal of brahminical self-respect: one should not live by flattery, begging, or dependence on gifts for status. True honor comes from integrity—being worthy of praise rather than seeking advantage by praising others.
Śarmiṣṭhā, furious, throws Devayānī into a well in a lonely forest and returns home. Afterward, Devayānī’s father Śukra addresses her, emphasizing her noble lineage and the dignity expected of her as the daughter of a revered brāhmaṇa.
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