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SB 2.18.5

śrī-rājovāca

brahmarṣir bhagavān kāvyaḥ

kṣatra-bandhuś ca nāhuṣaḥ

rājanya-viprayoḥ kasmād

vivāhaḥ pratilomakaḥ
śrī-rājā uvāca-Mahārāja Parīkṣit inquired; brahma-ṛṣiḥ-the best of the brāhmaṇas; bhagavān-very powerful; kāvyaḥ-Śukrācārya; kṣatra-bandhuḥ-belonged to the kṣatriya class; ca-also; nāhuṣaḥ-King Yayāti; rājanya-viprayoḥ-of a brāhmaṇa and a kṣatriya; kasmāt-how; vivāhaḥ-a marital relationship; pratilomakaḥ-against the customary regulative principles.





Mahārāja Parīkṣit said: Śukrācārya was a very powerful brāhmaṇa, and Mahārāja Yayāti was a kṣatriya. Therefore I am curious to know how there occurred this pratiloma marriage between a kṣatriya and a brāhmaṇa.





According to the Vedic system, marriages between kṣatriyas and kṣatriyas or between brāhmaṇas and brāhmaṇas are the general custom. If marriages sometimes take place between different classes, these marriages are of two types, namely anuloma and pratiloma. Anuloma, marriage between a brāhmaṇa and the daughter of a kṣatriya, is permissible, but pratiloma, marriage between a kṣatriya and the daughter of a brāhmaṇa, is not generally allowed. Therefore Mahārāja Parīkṣit was curious about how Śukrācārya, a powerful brāhmaṇa, could accept the principle of pratiloma. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was eager to know the cause for this uncommon marriage.





TEXTS 6–7



śrī-śuka uvāca

ekadā dānavendrasya

śarmiṣṭhā nāma kanyakā

sakhī-sahasra-saṁyuktā

guru-putryā ca bhāminī

devayānyā purodyāne



puṣpita-druma-saṅkule

vyacarat kala-gītāli-

nalinī-puline 'balā

SYNONYMS



śrī-śukaḥ uvāca-Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; ekadā-once upon a time; dānava-indrasya-of Vṛṣaparvā; śarmiṣṭhā-Śarmiṣṭhā; nāma-by name; kanyakā-a daughter; sakhī-sahasra-saṁyuktā-accompanied by thousands of friends; guru-putryā-with the daughter of the guru, Śukrācārya; ca-also; bhāminī-very easily irritated; devayānyā-with Devayānī; pura-udyāne-within the palace garden; puṣpita-full of flowers; druma-with nice trees; saṅkule-congested; vyacarat-was walking; kala-gīta-with very sweet sounds; ali-with bumblebees; nalinī-with lotuses; puline-in such a garden; abalā-innocent.





Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: One day Vṛṣaparvā's daughter Śarmiṣṭhā, who was innocent but angry by nature, was walking with Devayānī, the daughter of Śukrācārya, and with thousands of friends, in the palace garden. The garden was full of lotuses and trees of flowers and fruits and was inhabited by sweetly singing birds and bumblebees.