Mahabharata 1.13.29 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 13, Shloka 29

आस्तीक-उपाख्यान-प्रस्तावः | Introduction to the Āstīka Narrative

Devanagari script

सनाम्नी या भवित्री मे दित्सिता चैव बन्धुभि: | भैक्ष्यवत्तामहं कन्यामुपयंस्ये विधानतः

Transliteration

sanāmnī yā bhavitrī me ditsitā caiva bandhubhiḥ | bhaikṣyavattām ahaṃ kanyām upayaṃsye vidhānataḥ ||

Translation

(ആ നിബന്ധന ഇങ്ങനെ—) എന്റെ പേരിനോടു തുല്യമായ പേരുള്ള കന്യക, അവളുടെ ബന്ധുക്കൾ സ്വമേധയാ എനിക്ക് നൽകാൻ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നവൾ, കൂടാതെ ഭിക്ഷപോലെ ചോദിക്കാതെയേ ലഭിക്കുന്നവൾ—അത്തരം കന്യകയെയേ ഞാൻ ശാസ്ത്രവിധിപ്രകാരം പാണിഗ്രഹണം ചെയ്യും.

Word by Word

• {'śaunaka uvāca': 'Śaunaka said', 'sanāmnī': 'having the same name

• name-identical', 'yā': 'who (feminine relative pronoun)', 'bhavitrī': 'will be

• is to become (future-oriented feminine form)', 'me': 'for me

• my', 'ditsitā': 'intended to be given

• desired to be bestowed (in marriage)', 'ca eva': 'and indeed

• also', 'bandhubhiḥ': 'by kinsmen/relatives', 'bhaikṣyavat': 'like alms

• as something received without solicitation', 'tām': 'that (accusative feminine singular)', 'aham': 'I', 'kanyām': 'maiden

• unmarried girl', 'upayaṃsye (upayaṃsyāmi)': 'I shall marry

• I shall take as wife', 'vidhānataḥ': 'according to prescribed rule

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śaunaka
• kanyā (the maiden)
• bandhu (kinsmen/relatives)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes restraint and dharmic propriety in marriage: the speaker sets conditions that the bride be freely offered by her family and that the union be performed according to prescribed ritual law, highlighting consent, social legitimacy, and adherence to vidhi.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śaunaka states a specific vow about whom he will marry: a maiden sharing his name, willingly given by her relatives, and obtained without active seeking—‘like alms’—after which he will perform the marriage in the proper scriptural manner.