Shloka 79
Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ
King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt
वृणीष्व च वरं भीरु यं त्वमिच्छसि भामिनि | वृथा हि न प्रसादो मे भूतपूर्व: शुचिस्मिते,सत्यवतीके ऐसा कहनेपर मुनिश्रेष्ठ पराशर प्रसन्न होकर बोले--“भीरु! मेरा प्रिय कार्य करके भी तुम कन्या ही रहोगी। भामिनि! तुम जो चाहो, वह मुझसे वर माँग लो। शुचिस्मिते! आजसे पहले कभी भी मेरा अनुग्रह व्यर्थ नहीं गया है”
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
vṛṇīṣva ca varaṃ bhīru yaṃ tvam icchasi bhāmini |
vṛthā hi na prasādo me bhūtapūrvaḥ śucismite ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Pumili ka ng isang biyaya, O mahiyain—anumang nais mo, O babaeng nag-aalab ang damdamin. Sapagkat ang aking pagpapala ay hindi kailanman naging walang saysay noong una, O may dalisay na ngiti.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A boon (vara) is not a casual gift but a morally weighty commitment: the giver’s grace is presented as unfailing, so the recipient must exercise discernment and responsibility in choosing what to ask.
The speaker reports a moment where a powerful figure invites a woman to request any boon she desires, assuring her that his favor has never been ineffective—setting up the consequential choice that follows in the story.