Shloka 24
Priyavrata Accepts Kingship by Brahmā’s Instruction; Sapta-dvīpa Formation and Renunciation
अथ च दुहितरं प्रजापतेर्विश्वकर्मण उपयेमे बर्हिष्मतीं नाम तस्यामु ह वाव आत्मजानात्मसमानशीलगुणकर्मरूपवीर्योदारान्दश भावयाम्बभूव कन्यां च यवीयसीमूर्जस्वतीं नाम ॥ २४ ॥
atha ca duhitaraṁ prajāpater viśvakarmaṇa upayeme barhiṣmatīṁ nāma tasyām u ha vāva ātmajān ātma-samāna-śīla-guṇa-karma-rūpa-vīryodārān daśa bhāvayām babhūva kanyāṁ ca yavīyasīm ūrjasvatīṁ nāma.
అనంతరం మహారాజు ప్రియవ్రతుడు ప్రజాపతి విశ్వకర్మ కుమార్తె బర్హిష్మతీని వివాహం చేసుకున్నాడు. ఆమె గర్భంలో అతనితో సమానమైన రూపం, స్వభావం, గుణం, కర్మ, వీర్యం, ఔదార్యములు కలిగిన పది కుమారులు జన్మించారు; అలాగే అతి చిన్న కుమార్తె ఒకరు—ఊర్జస్వతీ అనే పేరుతో జన్మించింది.
Mahārāja Priyavrata not only carried out the order of Lord Brahmā by accepting the duties of government, but also married Barhiṣmatī, the daughter of Viśvakarmā, one of the prajāpatis. Since Mahārāja Priyavrata was fully trained in transcendental knowledge, he could have returned home and conducted the business of government as a brahmacārī. Instead, however, when he returned to household life, he accepted a wife also. The principle is that when one becomes a gṛhastha he must live perfectly in that order, which means he must live peacefully with a wife and children. When Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s first wife died, His mother requested Him to marry for a second time. He was twenty years old and was going to take sannyāsa at the age of twenty-four, yet by the request of His mother, He married. “As long as I am in household life,” He told His mother, “I must have a wife, for household life does not mean staying in a house. Real household life means living in a house with a wife.”
FAQs
This verse states that Ṛṣabhadeva married Barhiṣmatī, the daughter of Prajāpati Viśvakarmā.
They were described as equal to him in character, qualities, activities, beauty, valor, and magnanimity.
It highlights the ideal of cultivating virtue and noble character so that one’s influence—especially within family and society—produces similarly elevated qualities in others.