Shloka 37

Adhyāya 31: Rājasūya-samāgama — The Gathering of Kings and the Ordering of Hospitality

Devanagari script

तस्यां पुर्या तदा चैव माहिष्मत्यां कुरूद्वह । बभूवुरनतिग्राह्मा योषितश्छन्दत: किल,कुरुश्रेष्ठ जनममेजय! उस समय माहिष्मतीपुरीमें युवती स्त्रियाँ इच्छानुसार ग्रहण करनेके योग्य नहीं रह गयी थीं (क्योंकि वे स्वतन्त्रतासे ही वरका वरण किया करती थीं)

Transliteration

tasyāṃ puryāṃ tadā caiva māhiṣmatyāṃ kurūdvaha | babhūvur anatigrahmyā yoṣitaś chandataḥ kila ||

Translation

Wika ni Vaiśampāyana: O toro sa mga Kuru, noong panahong iyon sa lungsod ng Māhiṣmatī, ang mga dalagang babae ay hindi madaling “kunin” ng iba bilang asawa; sapagkat kilala silang pumipili ng mapapangasawa nang malaya ayon sa sariling nais.

Word by Word

तस्याम्in that

पुर्याम्in the city

तदाthen

चand

एवindeed/just

माहिष्मत्याम्in (the city of) Māhiṣmatī

कुरूद्वहO best of the Kurus

बभूवुःbecame/were

अनतिग्राह्याःnot to be taken/accepted (by others)

योषितःwomen/young women

छन्दतःaccording to (their) will/at pleasure

किलindeed/it is said

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Janamejaya

Māhiṣmatī

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse points to an ethical-social norm: women in Māhiṣmatī exercised personal choice in selecting a husband, implying that coercive ‘taking’ or overriding consent was not acceptable or workable there. It foregrounds consent and agency within the broader dharma-discourse on marriage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Within Vaiśampāyana’s narration to King Janamejaya, the text describes conditions in Māhiṣmatī: the young women were not ‘easily taken’ because they independently chose husbands according to their own desire, indicating a local custom or social reality relevant to the surrounding episode.