Shloka 76
अध्याय ७४: अक्रोध–क्षमा–निवासनीति
Chapter 74: Non-anger, Forbearance, and the Ethics of Residence
मेनकाप्सरसां श्रेष्ठा महर्षीणां पिता च ते । तयोरपत्यं कस्मात् त्वं पुंश्नलीव प्रभाषसे,मेनका अप्सराओंमें श्रेष्ठ बतायी जाती है और तुम्हारे पिता विश्वामित्र भी महर्षियोंमें उत्तम समझे जाते हैं। तुम उन्हीं दोनोंकी संतान होकर व्यभिचारिणी स्त्रीके समान क्यों झूठी बातें बना रही हो
Menakāpsarasāṃ śreṣṭhā maharṣīṇāṃ pitā ca te | tayor apatyaṃ kasmāt tvaṃ puṃścalīva prabhāṣase ||
Duṣyanta disse: «Menakā é celebrada como a primeira entre as apsaras, e teu pai Viśvāmitra é contado entre os maiores dos sábios. Sendo filha de pais tão excelsos, por que falas como uma mulher devassa, forjando falsidades?»
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of speech and reputation: noble lineage and personal dignity are invoked to challenge perceived dishonesty, showing how social ideals of honor and chastity are used to judge credibility—sometimes harshly and unjustly.
King Duṣyanta responds skeptically to the woman before him, citing her famed mother Menakā and sage-father Viśvāmitra, and then rebukes her as if she were immoral and lying—an escalation of doubt and insult within the Śakuntalā episode.