Shloka 13
Aṣṭāvakra and the Woman: Disclosure, Permission, and Marital Resolution (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय २२)
भीष्य उवाच सा तदा तेन विप्रेण तथा तेन निवर्तिता । स्वतन्त्रास्मीत्युवाचर्षि न धर्मच्छलमस्ति ते
bhīṣma uvāca sā tadā tena vipreṇa tathā tena nivartitā | svatantrāsmīty uvācārṣi na dharmacchalam asti te ||
ビーシュマは語った。「王よ、そのブラフマリシがそのようにして彼女を思いとどまらせようとすると、彼女は言った。『私は自ら選ぶ自由を持っています。ゆえに、もしあなたが私と結ばれても、あなたの側にダルマの欺きや破れはありません。』」
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical responsibility around intention and consent: if a woman freely chooses (svatantrā) and there is no misuse of dharma as a pretext (dharma-chala), the man is not guilty of a dharmic deception in accepting her.
Bhishma recounts an episode where a brahmarshi attempts to dissuade a woman; she responds that she is independent to decide and assures that union with her would not constitute a deceit or violation of dharma for the man involved.