Shloka 80
Āṇīmāṇḍavya–Upākhyāna
The Account of Āṇīmāṇḍavya and the Birth of Vidura
तेन मे बहुशस्तात पिता ते परिकीर्तित:ः । अर्ह: सत्यवतीं बोढुं धर्मज्ञ: स नराधिप:,तात! उन्होंने अनेक बार मुझसे आपके पिताके विषयमें चर्चा की थी। वे कहते थे, सत्यवतीको ब्याहनेयोग्य तो केवल धर्मज्ञ राजा शान्तनु ही हैं
tena me bahuśas tāta pitā te parikīrtitaḥ | arhaḥ satyavatīṃ boḍhuṃ dharmajñaḥ sa narādhipaḥ ||
“Vì thế, con yêu dấu, cha con đã nhiều lần nói với ta về ngài. Ông thường bảo: người duy nhất thật xứng đáng cưới Satyavatī chính là vị vua am tường dharma ấy—Śāntanu, chúa tể loài người.”
दाश उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worthiness in marriage and rulership is framed through dharma: the truly suitable husband is not merely powerful, but a dharma-knowing king whose conduct and status align with ethical and social order.
The fisherman (Daśa) recalls his father’s repeated words: that only King Śāntanu, renowned as dharmajña, is fit to marry Satyavatī—setting the moral and social justification for the proposed royal marriage.