Shloka 20
अध्याय ७४: अक्रोध–क्षमा–निवासनीति
Chapter 74: Non-anger, Forbearance, and the Ethics of Residence
धर्मकामार्थसम्बन्धं न स्मरामि त्वया सह । गच्छ वा तिष्ठ वा कामं॑ यद् वापीच्छसि तत् कुरु,“तुम्हारे साथ मेरा धर्म, काम अथवा अर्थको लेकर वैवाहिक सम्बन्ध स्थापित हुआ है, इस बातका मुझे तनिक भी स्मरण नहीं है। तुम इच्छानुसार जाओ या रहो अथवा जैसी तुम्हारी रुचि हो, वैसा करो”
dharmakāmārthasambandhaṃ na smarāmi tvayā saha | gaccha vā tiṣṭha vā kāmaṃ yad vāpy icchasi tat kuru ||
Wika ni Duṣyanta: “Hindi ko naaalala na may anumang bigkis—ng dharma, ng pagnanasa, o ng pakinabang sa daigdig—na naitatag sa pagitan mo at ko. Kung nais mong umalis, umalis ka; kung nais mong manatili, manatili ka—gawin mo ang anumang ikalulugod mo.”
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical failure: denying a relationship (and thus duty) by claiming lack of remembrance. It shows how speech can be used to evade dharma—rejecting accountability while offering the other party a hollow ‘freedom’ to go or stay.
Duṣyanta addresses a woman who asserts a prior marital/relational bond. He repudiates it, saying he remembers no connection of dharma, kāma, or artha with her, and dismisses her with ‘go or stay as you like,’ intensifying the conflict that drives the episode forward.