Shloka 34

ययाति-देवयानी-शर्मिष्ठा विवादः — Śukra’s Curse and the Disclosure of Lineage

Devanagari script

स्तुवतो दुहिता नित्यं याचत: प्रतिगृह्नत: । अहं तु स्तूयमानस्य ददतो<प्रतिगृह्नतः,“देवयानी! तू स्तुति करनेवाले, नित्य भीख माँगनेवाले और दान लेनेवालेकी बेटी है और मैं तो उन महाराजकी पुत्री हूँ, जिनकी तुम्हारे पिता स्तुति करते हैं, जो स्वयं दान देते हैं और लेते एक धेला भी नहीं हैं!

Transliteration

stuvato duhitā nityaṁ yācataḥ pratigṛhṇataḥ | ahaṁ tu stūyamānasya dadato ’pratigṛhṇataḥ ||

Translation

వైశంపాయనుడు చెప్పెను—“నీవు ఎల్లప్పుడూ ఇతరులను స్తుతించే, నిత్యం యాచించే, దానాన్ని స్వీకరించే వాడి కుమార్తెవు; కానీ నేను నీ తండ్రి స్తుతించే ఆ రాజుని కుమార్తెను—ఆయన దానమిచ్చేవాడు, కాని అతి చిన్నదైనదాన్నికూడా స్వీకరించడు.”

Word by Word

स्तुवतःof (one) praising

दुहिताdaughter

नित्यम्always

याचतःof (one) begging/asking

प्रतिगृह्णतःof (one) accepting (gifts)

अहम्I

तुbut/however

स्तूयमानस्यof (one) being praised

ददतःof (one) giving

अप्रतिगृह्णतःof (one) not accepting (gifts)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Devayānī

Śarmiṣṭhā (implied speaker of the quoted insult)

Śukra (implied as Devayānī's father)

Vṛṣaparvan (implied as Śarmiṣṭhā's father)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights an ethical hierarchy tied to dāna (giving) and pratigraha (accepting gifts): generosity is praised, while habitual dependence and indiscriminate acceptance are portrayed as socially and morally inferior. It also warns how pride based on status and patronage can become a weapon of insult, leading to conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Devayānī–Śarmiṣṭhā episode, a sharp exchange occurs in which Śarmiṣṭhā (a king’s daughter) belittles Devayānī by calling her the daughter of a praising, begging, gift-accepting priest, contrasting this with her own royal lineage—whose king is praised by Devayānī’s father and is characterized as a giver who does not accept gifts.