Shloka 22
ययातेर्वानप्रस्थतपःस्वर्गारोहणम् | Yayāti’s Vānaprastha Austerities and Ascent to Heaven
कथं नु मे मनस्विन्या: पाणिमन्य: पुमान् स्पृशेत् गृहीतमृषिपुत्रेण स्वयं वाप्यूषिणा त्वया
kathaṁ nu me manasvinyāḥ pāṇim anyaḥ pumān spṛśet | gṛhītam ṛṣiputreṇa svayaṁ vāpy ūṣiṇā tvayā ||
میں ضبطِ نفس رکھنے والی عورت ہوں۔ جب تم جیسے راجرشی کے فرزند—اور خود بھی راجرشی—نے اپنے ہاتھ سے میرا ہاتھ تھام لیا ہے، تو پھر کوئی دوسرا مرد اسے کیسے چھو سکتا ہے؟
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the dharmic weight of a pledged marital bond: once the ‘hand’ has been accepted (pāṇigrahaṇa), another man’s approach is ethically improper, and the woman’s self-restraint and honor are invoked as moral authority.
A woman argues that her hand has already been taken by a particular man—described as an ṛṣi’s son—so it would be wrong for any other man to touch or claim her, framing the situation as a matter of rightful commitment and social-religious propriety.