Mahabharata 1.74.73 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 74, Shloka 73
अध्याय ७४: अक्रोध–क्षमा–निवासनीति
Chapter 74: Non-anger, Forbearance, and the Ethics of Residence
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत आदिपर्वके अन्तर्गत सम्भवपर्वमें शकुन्तलोपाख्यानविषयक तिहत्तरवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
duṣyanta uvāca | na putram abhijānāmi tvayi jātaṃ śakuntale | asatyavacanā nāryaḥ kas te śraddhāsyate vacaḥ |
ດຸສຍັນຕະກ່າວວ່າ: «ໂອ ສະກຸນຕະລາ! ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າບໍ່ຍອມຮັບຮູ້ລູກຊາຍນີ້ວ່າເກີດຈາກເຈົ້າ. ຜູ້ຄົນມັກກ່າວຫາວ່າຍິງມັກເວົ້າບໍ່ຈິງ—ແລ້ວໃຜຈະເຊື່ອຖືຄໍາເຈົ້າ?»
कण्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how dharma can be obscured by fear of public opinion and prejudice: a ruler’s duty to truth and responsibility toward spouse and child is tested when he prioritizes reputation and uses generalized suspicion to dismiss a rightful claim.
In the Śakuntalā episode, Śakuntalā presents her child and asserts Duṣyanta’s paternity; Duṣyanta, in the royal court context, refuses to acknowledge the boy and questions her credibility, escalating the dispute that will later be resolved by higher testimony and recognition.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.