Shloka 16
Yayāti’s Abdication and Pūru’s Coronation (ययाति-पूोरु-राज्याभिषेकः)
देवयान्युवाच दासीं कन्यासहस्त्रेण शर्मिष्ठामभिकामये । अनु मां तत्र गच्छेत् सा यत्र दद्याच्च मे पिता,देवयानीने कहा--मैं चाहती हूँ, शर्मिष्ठा एक हजार कन्याओंके साथ मेरी दासी होकर रहे और पिताजी जहाँ मेरा विवाह करें, वहाँ भी वह मेरे साथ जाय
devayāny uvāca dāsīṃ kanyāsahasreṇa śarmiṣṭhām abhikāmaye | anu māṃ tatra gacchet sā yatra dadyāc ca me pitā ||
Devayānī nói: “Ta muốn Śarmiṣṭhā làm tỳ nữ của ta, có một nghìn thiếu nữ theo hầu. Và nơi nào phụ thân gả ta đến, nàng cũng phải theo ta đến đó.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how wounded honor and pride can drive demands for lasting compensation, raising ethical concerns about proportionality and the misuse of social power; it invites reflection on dharma in responding to insult—whether redress should restore dignity without becoming oppression.
Devayānī states her condition: Śarmiṣṭhā must become her maid, accompanied by a thousand attendants, and must follow Devayānī to her marital home wherever her father arranges her marriage—making the subordination permanent and publicly affirmed.