Shloka 23

Uttaṅka’s Petition for Madayantī’s Divine Earrings (Maṇikuṇḍala) — Agreement, Proof, and Vigilance

Devanagari script

ददानि पत्नीं कन्यां च स्वां ते दुहितरं द्विज । एतामृते<ड्रना नान्या त्वत्तेजो5हति सेवितुम्‌,भगुकुलभूषण! इस तरह तुम मुझे पूर्ण संतुष्ट जानो। यदि आज तुम सोलह वर्षके तरुण हो जाओ तो मैं तुम्हें पत्नीरूपसे अपनी कुमारी कन्या अर्पित कर दूँगा; क्योंकि इसके सिवा दूसरी कोई स्त्री तुम्हारे तेजको नहीं सह सकती

Transliteration

dādāni patnīṁ kanyāṁ ca svāṁ te duhitaraṁ dvija | etām ṛte na anyā tvat-tejo 'hati sevitum, bhṛgu-kula-bhūṣaṇa ||

Translation

Gautama berkata: “Wahai yang dua kali lahir, aku menyerahkan kepadamu isteriku dan juga anak gadisku yang masih dara—anak kandungku sendiri. Selain dia, tiada wanita lain yang mampu menanggung dan berkhidmat kepada seorang yang bersinar seperti engkau, wahai perhiasan keturunan Bhṛgu.”

Word by Word

• {'dādāni': 'I give

• I offer', 'patnīm': 'wife', 'kanyām': 'maiden daughter

• unmarried girl', 'svām': 'one’s own', 'te': 'to you', 'duhitaraṁ': 'daughter', 'dvija': 'twice-born (Brahmin/initiated man)', 'etām ṛte': 'except for her

• apart from her', 'na anyā': 'no other (woman)', 'tvat-tejaḥ': 'your splendor/ascetic radiance (spiritual potency)', 'ahati': 'is able

• is capable (to bear/endure)', 'sevitum': 'to serve

• to attend upon', 'bhṛgu-kula-bhūṣaṇa': 'ornament of the Bhṛgu family/lineage'}

Speaker

गौतम उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Gautama
• a Brahmin ascetic addressed as dvija
• Bhṛgu lineage (Bhṛgukula)
• wife (patnī)
• daughter (duhitṛ/kanyā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how extraordinary spiritual potency (tejas) is treated as a decisive ethical and social factor: service and marital suitability are framed in terms of capacity to endure and harmonize with ascetic power, reflecting dharma-based reasoning rather than mere personal preference.

What is happening in the narrative?

Gautama addresses a Brahmin of the Bhṛgu line and, declaring himself fully satisfied, offers his wife and his maiden daughter, asserting that only this daughter can bear and serve the recipient’s intense ascetic radiance.