98 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 9, Ch. 20

highest classes, especially in the royal ksatriya families. Maharaja
Dusmanta’s acceptance of Sakuntala as his wife was sanctioned by Vedic
culture. How the marriage took place is described in the next verse.

TEXT 16
MAR TATA TAS |
TIAA TAT Sara AAA 24

om ity ukte yatha-dharmam
upayeme Sakuntalam

gandharva-vidhina raja
desa-kala-vidhanavit

om iti ukte—by reciting the Vedic pranava, invoking the Supreme
Personality of Godhead to witness the marriage; yathd-dharmam—ex-
actly according to the principles of religion (because Narayana becomes
the witness in an ordinary religious marriage also); upayeme—he mar-
ried; sakuntalam—the girl Sakuntalaé; gandharva-vidhind—by the
regulative principle of the Gandharvas, without deviation from religious
principles; raja—Maharaja Dusmanta; desa-kdla-vidhana-vit—com-
pletely aware of duties according to time, position and objective.

TRANSLATION

When Sakuntala responded to Maharaja Dusmanta’s proposal
with silence, the agreement was complete. Then the King, who
knew the laws of marriage, immediately married her by chanting
the Vedic pranava [omkara], in accordance with the marriage
ceremony as performed among the Gandharvas.

PURPORT

The omkdra, pranava, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead repre-
sented by letters. Bhagavad-gita says that the letters a-u-m, combined
together as om, represent the Supreme Lord. Religious principles are
meant to invoke the blessings and mercy of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Krsna, who says in Bhagavad-gita that He is personally pres-
