Shloka 15
Aṣṭāvakra and the Woman: Disclosure, Permission, and Marital Resolution (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय २२)
रूयुवाच बाधते मैथुन विप्र मम भक्ति च पश्य वै । अधर्म प्राप्स्यसे विप्र यन्मां त्वं नाभिनन्दसि
strī uvāca—bādhate maithunaṁ vipra mama bhaktiṁ ca paśya vai | adharmaṁ prāpsyase vipra yan māṁ tvaṁ nābhinandasi ||
स्त्री उवाच— बाधते मैथुनं विप्र, मम भक्तिं च पश्य वै। अधर्मं प्राप्स्यसे विप्र, यन्मां त्वं नाभिनन्दसि॥
अष्टावक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral tension between kāma (sexual desire) and dharma (righteous conduct). It shows how desire can argue in the language of duty—claiming that refusal is ‘sin’—thereby testing discernment, self-control, and the proper understanding of ethical obligation.
A woman addresses a brahmin and openly declares that sexual desire is tormenting her. She appeals to her ‘devotion’ toward him and attempts to pressure him by asserting that if he does not accept her, he will incur adharma (sin).