Shloka 26

Devanagari script

दौष्कुलेया विशेषेण कथंचित्‌ प्रग्रह॑ गता: । बालभावाद्‌ विकुर्वन्ति प्रायश: प्रमदा: शुभे,'शुभे! जो दूषित कुलमें उत्पन्न होनेवाली स्त्रियाँ हैं, वे किसी तरह विशेष आग्रहमें पड़कर अपने अविवेकके कारण प्राय: बिगड़ जाती हैं (परंतु तुमसे ऐसी आशंका नहीं है)

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: dauṣkuleyā viśeṣeṇa kathaṃcit pragṛhaṃ gatāḥ | bālabhāvād vikurvanti prāyaśaḥ pramadāḥ śubhe ||

Translation

Disse Vaiśampāyana: “Ó senhora auspiciosa, as mulheres nascidas em linhagens manchadas, quando de algum modo—especialmente—caem num apego obstinado, por infantil falta de discernimento, na maior parte das vezes são levadas à distorção moral. Contudo, no teu caso, não se insinua tal receio.”

Word by Word

दौष्कुलेयाःwomen of bad lineage

विशेषेणespecially

कथंचित्somehow

प्रग्रहंrestraint; control; (here) a strong hold/insistence

गताःhaving gone; having fallen into

बालभावात्from childishness; due to immaturity

विकुर्वन्तिact perversely; become distorted; go astray

प्रायशःfor the most part; generally

प्रमदाःwomen

शुभेO auspicious one

अशुभेO inauspicious one (as a contrasting address/epithet)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse warns that when a person—here framed as women of compromised lineage—falls into stubborn attachment or insistence, immature judgment can lead to ethical decline; it implicitly praises the addressed woman as an exception, emphasizing discernment and self-restraint as safeguards.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, narrating the episode, reports a general caution about moral vulnerability under obstinate attachment and immaturity, while simultaneously reassuring the addressed ‘auspicious lady’ that such suspicion does not apply to her.