Shloka 11
Pāṇḍu’s Marriages, Conquests, and Triumphal Return (पाण्डोर्विवाह-विजय-प्रत्यागमनम्)
“यद्यपि मैं चाहती नहीं थी, तो भी उन्होंने मुझ अबलाको अपने तेजसे तिरस्कृत करके नौकापर ही मुझे अपने वशमें कर लिया। उस समय उन्होंने कुहरा उत्पन्न करके सम्पूर्ण लोकको अन्धकारसे आवृत कर दिया था। भारत! पहले मेरे शरीरसे अत्यन्त घृणित मछलीकी-सी बड़ी तीव्र दुर्गन्ध आती थी। उसको मिटाकर मुनिने मुझे यह उत्तम गन्ध प्रदान की थी
yadyapi māṃ naiccham, tathāpi tejasā mām abalāṃ tiraskṛtya naukāyām eva māṃ sva-vaśe cakāra. tadā sa munir ghanaṃ (kuharam) utpādya sarvaṃ lokaṃ tamasāvṛtaṃ cakāra. bhārata! pūrvaṃ mama śarīrāt matsyavat paramā jugupsitā mahā-tīvrā durgandhir āgacchati sma; tāṃ apanīya muninā mahyaṃ eṣā uttamā gandhaḥ pradattā.
“Embora eu não consentisse, ele me dominou —a mim, uma mulher sem proteção— pela força de seu poder ascético e me submeteu ali mesmo, no barco. Então o sábio ergueu uma névoa densa e cobriu toda a região de escuridão. Ó descendente de Bharata, antes meu corpo exalava um fedor intensíssimo, repulsivo, como de peixe; o sábio o removeu e me concedeu esta excelente fragrância.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how extraordinary power (tejas) can be used to override another’s will, raising ethical tension within the epic. It also shows how later social legitimacy and lineage narratives are intertwined with secrecy and transformation, prompting reflection on dharma when power imbalances are present.
Satyavatī recounts that the sage used his ascetic power to take control of her on a boat, concealing the act by creating fog and darkness. He then removes her former fish-like stench and grants her a pleasing fragrance, explaining her epithet and the concealment of the encounter.