व्यास उवाच
आसीत् तपोवने का चिद् ऋषेः कन्या महात्मनः ॥
नाध्यगच्छत् पतिं सा तु कन्या रूपवती सती ॥
तोषयाम् आस तपसा सा किलोग्रेण शंकरम् ॥
ताम् उवाचेश्वरः प्रीतो वृणु कामम् इति स्वयम् ॥
सैवम् उक्ताब्रवीत् कन्या देवं वरदम् ईश्वरम् ॥
पतिं सर्वगुणोपेतम् इच्छामीति पुनः पुनः ॥
ददौ तस्यै स देवेशस् तं वरं प्रीतिमांस् तदा ॥
पञ्च ते पतयः श्रेष्ठा भविष्यन्तीति शंकरः ॥
vyāsa uvāca
āsīt tapovane kā cid ṛṣeḥ kanyā mahātmanaḥ ||
nādhyagacchat patiṃ sā tu kanyā rūpavatī satī ||
toṣayām āsa tapasā sā kilogreṇa śaṃkaram ||
tām uvāceśvaraḥ prīto vṛṇu kāmam iti svayam ||
saivam uktābravīt kanyā devaṃ varadam īśvaram ||
patiṃ sarvaguṇopetam icchāmīti punaḥ punaḥ ||
dadau tasyai sa deveśas taṃ varaṃ prītimāṃs tadā ||
pañca te patayaḥ śreṣṭhā bhaviṣyantīti śaṃkaraḥ ||
Vyasa said: 'There was in a hermitage of austerity a certain daughter of a great sage; that maiden did not obtain a husband, though beautiful and virtuous. She propitiated Shankara with severe austerity; the Lord, pleased, himself said to her: Choose your boon. That maiden, thus addressed, said to the god, the bestower of boons, the Lord: I desire a husband endowed with every virtue — again and again. That lord of gods, delighted, then gave her that boon: Five excellent husbands you shall have, said Shankara.'
6e97ee71c631 · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:44:41 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here another layer is disclosed — a boon granted long ago for austerity. It is telling that Draupadi, in a former birth, won a husband through austerity: her marriage is the fruit of her own asceticism and Shiva's grace, not chance. This shows that the fate of marriage too ripens from past deeds and divine grace. The verse reveals a second cause of the union, and the maiden's fivefold plea foreshadows her five husbands.