SB 9.18.5 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीराजोवाच ब्रह्मर्षिर्भगवान् काव्य: क्षत्रबन्धुश्च नाहुष: । राजन्यविप्रयो: कस्माद् विवाह: प्रतिलोमक: ॥ ५ ॥

Verse text

śrī-rājovāca brahmarṣir bhagavān kāvyaḥ kṣatra-bandhuś ca nāhuṣaḥ rājanya-viprayoḥ kasmād vivāhaḥ pratilomakaḥ

Synonyms

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 .

Translation

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.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Mahārāja Parīkṣit said: Śukrācārya was a brāhmaṇa sage, and Mahārāja Yayāti was a kṣatriya. How did this pratiloma marriage between a fallen kṣatriya man and a brāhmaṇa woman occur? Hearing that he accepted a brāhamaṇa’s daughter, Parīkṣit calls Yayāti a fallen kṣatriya, since he did not know the circumstances.

Purport

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.