Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 9 - Chapter 1 - Verse 20-21


Sanskrit:

तं वीरमाहौशनसी प्रेमनिर्भरया गिरा ।राजंस्त्वया गृहीतो मे पाणि: परपुरञ्जय ॥ २० ॥हस्तग्राहोऽपरो मा भूद् गृहीतायास्त्वया हि मे ।एष ईशकृतो वीर सम्बन्धो नौ न पौरुष: ॥ २१ ॥

ITRANS:

taṁ vīram āhauśanasīprema-nirbharayā girārājaṁs tvayā gṛhīto mepāṇiḥ para-purañjaya

Translation:

With words saturated with love and affection, Devayānī said to King Yayāti: O great hero, O King, conqueror of the cities of your enemies, by accepting my hand you have accepted me as your married wife. Let me not be touched by others, for our relationship as husband and wife has been made possible by providence, not by any human being.

Purport:

While taking Devayānī out of the well, King Yayāti must certainly have appreciated her youthful beauty, and therefore he might have asked her which caste she belonged to. Thus Devayānī would have immediately replied, “We are already married because you have accepted my hand.” Uniting the hands of the bride and bridegroom is a system perpetually existing in all societies. Therefore, as soon as Yayāti accepted Devayānī’s hand, they could be regarded as married. Because Devayānī was enamored with the hero Yayāti, she requested him not to change his mind and let another come to marry her.