Text 15] The Dynasty of Paru 97

Sri-dusmantah uvaca—King Dusmanta replied; upapannam—just
befitting your position; tdam—this; su-bhru—O Sakuntala, with
beautiful eyebrows; jatayah—because of your birth; kusika-anvaye—in
the family of Visvamitra; svayam—personally; hi—indeed; vrnute—
select; rajfidm—of a royal family; kanyakah—daughters; sadrsam—on
an equal level; varam—husbands.

TRANSLATION

King Dusmanta replied: O Sakuntala, with beautiful eyebrows,
you have taken your birth in the family of the great saint
Visvamitra, and your reception is quite worthy of your family.
Aside from this, the daughters of a king generally select their own
husbands.

PURPORT

In her reception of Maharaja Dusmanta, Sakuntala clearly said, “Your
Majesty may stay here, and you may accept whatever reception | can
offer.” Thus she indicated that she wanted Maharaja Dusmanta as her
husband. As far as Maharaja Dusmanta was concerned, he desired
Sakuntala as his wife from the very beginning, as soon as he saw her, so
the agreement to unite as husband and wife was natural. To induce
Sakuntala to accept the marriage, Maharaja Dusmanta reminded her that
as the daughter of a king she could select her husband in an open assem-
bly. In the history of Aryan civilization there have been many instances
in which famous princesses have selected their husbands in open com-
petitions. For example, it was in such a competition that Sitadevi ac-
cepted Lord Ramacandra as her husband and that Draupadi accepted
Arjuna, and there are many other instances. So marriage by agreement
or by selecting one’s own husband in an open competition is allowed.
There are eight kinds of marriage, of which marriage by agreement is
called gandharva marriage. Generally the parents select the husband or
wife for their daughter or son, but gandharva marriage takes place by
personal selection. Still, although marriage by personal selection or by
agreement took place in the past, we find no such thing as divorce by dis-
agreement. Of course, divorce by disagreement took place among low-
class men, but marriage by agreement was found even in the very
