ययातिर् उवाच
दातव्यं याचमानेभ्य इति मे व्रतम् आहितम् ॥
त्वं च याचसि मां कामं ब्रूहि किं करवाणि ते ॥
शर्मिष्ठोवाच
अधर्मात् त्राहि मां राजन् धर्मं च प्रतिपादय ॥
त्वत्तो ऽपत्यवती लोके चरेयं धर्मम् उत्तमम् ॥
त्रय एवाधना राजन् भार्या दासस् तथा सुतः ॥
यत् ते समधिगच्छन्ति यस्य ते तस्य तद् धनम् ॥
देवयान्या भुजिष्यास्मि वश्या च तव भार्गवी ॥
सा चाहं च त्वया राजन् भरणीये भजस्व माम् ॥
वैशंपायन उवाच
एवम् उक्तस् तु राजा स तथ्यम् इत्य् एव जज्ञिवान् ॥
पूजयाम् आस शर्मिष्ठां धर्मं च प्रत्यपादयत् ॥
समागम्य च शर्मिष्ठां यथाकामम् अवाप्य च ॥
अन्योन्यम् अभिसंपूज्य जग्मतुस् तौ यथागतम् ॥
तस्मिन् समागमे सुभ्रूः शर्मिष्ठा चारुहासिनी ॥
लेभे गर्भं प्रथमतस् तस्मान् नृपतिसत्तमात् ॥
प्रजज्ञे च ततः काले राजन् राजीवलोचना ॥
कुमारं देवगर्भाभं राजीवनिभलोचनम् ॥
yayātir uvāca
dātavyaṃ yācamānebhya iti me vratam āhitam ||
tvaṃ ca yācasi māṃ kāmaṃ brūhi kiṃ karavāṇi te ||
śarmiṣṭhovāca
adharmāt trāhi māṃ rājan dharmaṃ ca pratipādaya ||
tvatto 'patyavatī loke careyaṃ dharmam uttamam ||
traya evādhanā rājan bhāryā dāsas tathā sutaḥ ||
yat te samadhigacchanti yasya te tasya tad dhanam ||
devayānyā bhujiṣyāsmi vaśyā ca tava bhārgavī ||
sā cāhaṃ ca tvayā rājan bharaṇīye bhajasva mām ||
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
evam uktas tu rājā sa tathyam ity eva jajñivān ||
pūjayām āsa śarmiṣṭhāṃ dharmaṃ ca pratyapādayat ||
samāgamya ca śarmiṣṭhāṃ yathākāmam avāpya ca ||
anyonyam abhisaṃpūjya jagmatus tau yathāgatam ||
tasmin samāgame subhrūḥ śarmiṣṭhā cāruhāsinī ||
lebhe garbhaṃ prathamatas tasmān nṛpatisattamāt ||
prajajñe ca tataḥ kāle rājan rājīvalocanā ||
kumāraṃ devagarbhābhaṃ rājīvanibhalocanam ||
Yayati said: 'One must give to those who ask' — such is the vow I have taken; and you are asking me for what you desire; tell me what I should do for you.' Sharmishtha said: 'O king, save me from adharma — childlessness — and thereby establish dharma; having offspring from you, I shall observe the highest dharma in the world. O king, three have no property of their own — a wife, a slave, and a son; whatever they acquire belongs to the one to whom they belong. I am the handmaiden of Devayani, daughter of Bhargava, subject to her; both she and I are to be maintained by you; O king, accept me.' Vaishampayana said: 'Thus addressed, that king, acknowledging this as true, honored Sharmishtha and established dharma by giving her offspring. Having come together with Sharmishtha and attained their desire, the two, having honored each other, went back whence they had come. From that union, the sweetly smiling, fair-browed Sharmishtha conceived for the first time by that best of kings. O king, then, in due time, the lotus-eyed Sharmishtha bore a son, radiant as if conceived by a god, with eyes like lotus petals.'
967e1ff77304 · 发布于 2026年7月12日 15:49:50 UTC
可用语言RUEN用方向键翻颂
Here Yayati yields to Sharmishtha — and the subtlety (and danger) of casuistry in dharma reveals itself. Two of Sharmishtha's arguments stand out. First, 'save me from adharma — childlessness': begetting offspring is dharma, and helping toward it is a good; thus her request is clothed in dharma. Second, a cunning argument: 'a wife, a slave, and a son have no property of their own; I am Devayani's handmaiden, and so I am subject to you as well, her husband'; hence the king, as it were, does not break the prohibition against 'summoning' her (he did not summon her — she came of her own accord) and, as it were, has a claim on her as on his wife's handmaiden. The two-edged nature of the reasoning is plain here: formally Yayati keeps to the letter — he did not 'summon' her, and 'one must give to those who ask' — but in substance he breaks the spirit of Shukra's prohibition. Thus the scripture subtly shows how casuistry — the artful interpretation of dharma — can justify what is forbidden in spirit; and although the birth of Puru (from Sharmishtha) is providential — from him comes the line of the Bharatas — Yayati's act itself is not blameless, and it will bring on Devayani's wrath and Shukra's curse. The lesson: not even skillful interpretation should cloak the breaking of one's given word; the letter kept against the spirit does not save one from the consequences.