Shloka 76
Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ
King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt
त्वत्संयोगाच्च दुष्येत कन््याभावो ममानघ । कन्यात्वे दूषिते वापि कथं शक्ष्ये द्विजोत्तम
tvat-saṃyogāc ca duṣyeta kanyābhāvo mamānagha | kanyātve dūṣite vāpi kathaṃ śakṣye dvijottama niṣpāpa maharṣe ||
Wika niya: “O walang-dungis, sa pakikipag-isa ko sa inyo ay madudungisan ang aking pagiging dalaga. Kapag napinsala ang aking dangal, paano ako makababalik sa aming tahanan, O pinakadakila sa mga dalawang-ulit na isinilang? Kung mapasaakin ang mantsa ng pagkawala ng pagkadalaga, ayaw ko nang magpatuloy pang mabuhay. Panginoon, pag-isipan ninyo itong mabuti at gawin ang inyong nakikitang nararapat.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical weight of social reputation and sexual propriety in the epic’s world: a woman’s perceived chastity is treated as decisive for her social standing and even her will to live, prompting an appeal to the sage’s discernment (dharma-buddhi) to find a righteous course.
A maiden, speaking to a brahmin seer, fears that any union with him will ‘taint’ her maidenhood and make returning home impossible; she expresses despair and urges him to deliberate and decide what is proper, while Vaiśampāyana frames the exchange as narrator.