Shloka 62

Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 103 — Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Gāndhārī Vivāha: Proposal, Consent, and the Vow

Devanagari script

मया वरयितव्यो<भूच्छाल्वस्तस्मिन्‌ स्वयंवरे । एतदू विज्ञाय धर्मज्ञ धर्मतत्त्वं समाचर,“उस स्वयंवरमें मुझे राजा शाल्वका ही वरण करना था। धर्मज्ञ! इन सब बातोंको सोच- समझकर जो धर्मका सार प्रतीत हो, वही कार्य कीजिये!

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | mayā varayitavyo 'bhūc chālvas tasmin svayaṃvare | etad u vijñāya dharmajña dharmatattvaṃ samācara |

Translation

ในพิธีสวยัมวรนั้น ข้าพึงเลือกศาลวะเท่านั้น โอ้ผู้รู้ธรรม เมื่อทราบดังนี้แล้ว ขอจงประพฤติตามแก่นแท้แห่งธรรมเถิด

Word by Word

मयाby me / I (agent)

वरयितव्यःto be chosen / ought to be chosen

अभूत्was / became

शाल्वःKing Śālva

तस्मिन्in that

स्वयंवरेin the svayaṃvara (self-choice ceremony)

एतत्this

उindeed / moreover (emphatic particle)

विज्ञायhaving known / having understood

धर्मज्ञO knower of dharma

धर्मतत्त्वम्the true principle/essence of dharma

समाचरpractice / do / follow

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Śālva

svayaṃvara

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse urges dharma-based decision-making: after understanding the facts, one should act according to dharma’s underlying principle (dharmatattva), not merely impulse or surface custom.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker (reported by Vaiśampāyana) states that in a particular svayaṃvara she was supposed to choose King Śālva, and she advises a dharma-knower to consider the situation carefully and proceed in line with the essence of dharma.