Mahābhārata · Adhyāya 13.55
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13.55.1
श्रुतं वर्णावरैर्दत्तं हव्यं कव्यं च नारद ।
सम्प्रयोगे च पुत्राणां कन्यानां च ब्रवीहि मे ॥ १३.५५.१ ॥
O Nārada, tell me of the havya and kavya that were heard and given by the lower classes, and of the union of sons and daughters.
13.55.2
कन्याप्रदानं प्रत्राणां स्त्रीणां संयोगमेव च ।
आनुपूर्व्यान्मया सम्यगुच्यमानं निबोध मे ॥ १३.५५.२ ॥
I will rightly tell you, in due order, of the giving of daughters in marriage and the union of sons and women. Understand it from me.
13.55.3
जातमात्रा तु दातव्या कन्यका सदृशे वरे ।
काले दत्तासु कन्यासु पिता धर्मेण युज्यते ॥ १३.५५.३ ॥
A maiden should be given to a suitable groom as soon as she is born; when daughters are given in due time, the father is joined to dharma.
13.55.4
यस्तु पुष्पवतीं कन्यां बान्धवो न प्रयच्छति ।
मासिमासि गते बन्धुस्तस्या भ्रौणघ्न्यमाप्नुते ॥ १३.५५.४ ॥
A kinsman who does not give a maiden who has reached puberty incurs the guilt of killing an embryo, month after month.
13.55.5
यस्तु कन्यां गृहे रुन्ध्याद्ग्राम्यैर्भोगैर्विवर्जिताम् ।
अवध्यातः स कन्याया बन्धुः प्राप्नोति भ्रूणहाम् ॥ १३.५५.५ ॥
A kinsman who keeps a maiden shut up at home, deprived of worldly pleasures, is guilty of neglect toward her and incurs the guilt of killing an embryo.
13.55.6
दूषिता पाणिमात्रेण मृते भर्तरि दारिका ।
संस्कारं लभते नारी द्वितीये सा पुनः पतौ ॥ १३.५५.६ ॥
When her husband dies, the girl who was defiled merely by the touch of the hand obtains a rite again with a second husband.
13.55.7
पुनर्भूर्नाम सा कन्या सपुत्रा हव्यकव्यदा ।
अदूष्या सा प्रसूतीषु प्रजानां दारकर्मणि ॥ १३.५५.७ ॥
That maiden named Punarbhū, possessing sons, is a giver of offerings to gods and ancestors. In childbirth and in the rite of marriage she is not defiled.
13.55.8
या तु कन्या प्रसूयेत गर्भिणी या तु वा भवेत् ।
कथं दारक्रियां भूयः सा भवेदृषिसत्तम ॥ १३.५५.८ ॥
But how can a maiden who has given birth, or who is pregnant, again become fit for the rite of marriage, O best of sages?
13.55.9
तत्वार्थनिश्चितं शब्दं कन्यका नयतेऽग्नये ।
तस्मात्कुर्वन्ति वै भावं कुमार्यस्ता न कन्यकाः ॥ १३.५५.९ ॥
By the firmly settled sense of the rule, a maiden is led to the fire. Therefore they are indeed regarded as unmarried girls, not as maidens.
13.55.10
ब्रह्महत्यात्रिभागेन गर्भाधानविशोधितः ।
गृह्णीयात्तां चतुर्भागविशुद्धां सर्जनात्पुनः ॥ १३.५५.१० ॥
One who is purified of conception by a third part of the sin of killing a Brahmin should take her; and she who is purified by a fourth part, from the bearing of a child, should again be taken.
13.55.11
कथं कन्यासु ये जाता बन्धूनां दूषिताः सदा ।
कस्य ते हव्यकव्यानि प्रदास्यन्ति महामुने ॥ १३.५५.११ ॥
Those who are born among maidens and are always regarded as defiled by their kinsmen, for whom will they offer the havya and kavya offerings, O great sage?
13.55.12
कन्यायास्तु पितुः पुत्राः कानीना हव्यकव्यदाः ।
अन्तर्वत्नयास्तु यः पाणिं गृह्णीयात्स सहोढजः ॥ १३.५५.१२ ॥
The sons of a maiden's father are the kānīnas, and they too are givers of havya and kavya offerings. The one who takes the hand of a pregnant woman, his son is called sahoḍhaja.
13.55.13
अथ येनाहितो गर्भः कन्यायां तत्र नारद ।
कथं पुत्रफलं तस्य भवेदेतत्प्रचक्ष्व मे ॥ १३.५५.१३ ॥
Nārada, how is there the fruit of a son for him by whom an embryo is placed in a maiden? Declare this to me.
13.55.14
धर्माचारेषु ते नित्यं दूषकाः कृतशोधनाः ।
बीजं च नश्यते तेषां मोघचेष्टा भवन्ति ते ॥ १३.५५.१४ ॥
In the practice of dharma they are always defilers, even when purified by rites; their seed is lost, and their efforts become futile.
13.55.15
अथ काचिद्भवेत्कन्या क्रीता दत्ता हृताऽपि वा ।
कथं पुत्रकृतं तस्यास्तद्भवेद्दषिसत्तम ॥ १३.५५.१५ ॥
Now, if some maiden has been bought, given, or taken away, how would the son-making for her come about? How would that be, O best of sages?
13.55.16
क्रीता दत्ता हृता चैव या कन्या पाणिवर्जिता ।
कौमारी नाम सा भार्या प्रसवेदौरसान्सुतान्।
न पत्न्यर्थे शुभा प्रोक्ता तत्कर्मण्यपराजिते ॥ १३.५५.१६ ॥
A maiden who has been bought, given, or taken away, and whose hand has not been taken, is called 'Kaumārī'; she is not said to bear legitimate sons as a wife; O unconquered one, she is not declared auspicious for that act.
13.55.17
केन मङ्गलकृत्येषु विनियुज्यन्ति कन्यकाः ।
एतदिच्छामि विज्ञातुं तत्वेनेह महामुने ॥ १३.५५.१७ ॥
By whom are maidens employed in auspicious rites? O great sage, I wish to know this truly here.
13.55.18
नित्यं निवसते लक्ष्मीः कन्यकासु प्रतिष्ठिता ।
शोभना शुभयोग्या च पूज्या मङ्गलकर्मसु ॥ १३.५५.१८ ॥
Lakṣmī always dwells, established in maidens; they are radiant, fit for auspicious things, and worthy of worship in rites of good fortune.
13.55.19
आकरस्थं यथा रत्नं सर्वकामफलोपगम् ।
तथा कन्या महालक्ष्मीः सर्वलोकस्य मङ्गलम् ॥ १३.५५.१९ ॥
As a gem lying in a mine yields the fruit of every desire, so a maiden is the great Lakṣmī, the blessing of the whole world.
13.55.20
एवं कन्या परा लक्ष्मी रतिस्तोषश्च देहिनाम् ।
महाकुलानां चारित्रवृत्तेन निकषोपलम् ॥ १३.५५.२० ॥
Thus a maiden is the supreme Lakṣmī, the delight and contentment of embodied beings; for great families she is the touchstone of conduct and character.
13.55.21
आनयित्वा स्वकाद्वर्णात्कन्यकां यो भजेन्नरः ।
दातारं हव्यकव्यानां पुत्रकं या प्रसूयति ॥ १३.५५.२१ ॥
A man who brings a maiden from his own class and takes her to wife — she bears a son who gives the oblations of havya and kavya to gods and ancestors.
13.55.22
साध्वी कुलं वर्धयति साध्वी पुष्टिग्रहे परा ।
साध्वी लक्ष्मी रतिः साक्षात्प्रतिष्ठा सन्ततिस्तथा ॥ १३.५५.२२ ॥
A virtuous wife makes the family grow; in a house of prosperity the virtuous one is supreme. The virtuous Lakṣmī is indeed delight, foundation, and offspring.