a sage message

अस्मान् साधु विचिन्त्य संयम धनान् उच्चैः कुलम् चात्मनः
त्वय्यस्याः  कथमप्यबान्धवकृतं स्नेहप्रवृत्तिं च तां।
सामान्य प्रतिपत्ति पूर्वकमियं दारेषु दृस्या त्वय
भग्यायत्तमथः परम् न खलु तद् वाच्यं वधू बन्धुभिः॥
काळिदासकृते अभिज्ञानशाकुन्तले चतुर्थे अङ्गे 
asmān sādhu vicintya saṁyama dhanān uccaiḥ kulam cātmanaḥ
tvayyasyāḥ  kathamapyabāndhavakṛtaṁ snehapravṛttiṁ ca tāṁ|
sāmānya pratipatti pūrvakamiyaṁ dāreṣu dṛsyā tvaya
bhagyāyattamathaḥ param na khalu tad vācyaṁ vadhū bandhubhiḥ||
kāḻidāsakṛte abhijñānaśākuntale caturthe aṅge

In the monumental Drama  abhijnaana saakuntalam penned by Kalidasa, the fourth Act, where the scenes on the eve of departure of Sakuntala  from the hermitage of her foster father Kanva  to the palace of King Dushyanta whom she had married secretly.  Kanva is conscious of his embarrassment and at the same time the rights and duties of a married couple.  So he sends a message to Dusyanth through his disciples sarngarava and shaaraddwata, who are accompanying Sakuntala.

"please consider the fact that I am wealthy only in penance and self discipline (may be meaning that I have very little to give as dowry), you have to think of your exalted family status also( you are the wealthy king and you are expected to maintain certain decorum in life) . You remember this girl and yourself engaged in romance and got married each another secretly without the permission of the elder relatives, so you have to treat her at least as an equal among so many of your wives.( there is an indirect note of caution that since you have married the daughter of a powerful sage without his permission, better keep her in a respectable status or you may incur the wrath of the sage and its consequences} . The rest I leave to providence and luck, what else can the close relative of the bride tell under the circumstances? 

Yes, even to this day in a traditional  society when the youngsters act unconventionally, the parents and elders have to suffer numerous blushes. 

Marriages in the present times are through mutual selection and the couple expect only the blessings of the parents...at least ostensibly.  Still the undercurrents of traditions remain practically same to this day.

This sloka is considered one of the four greatest pieces from Sakunthalam, Act Four.. which in turn is considered as the most celebrated part of the Play  which is again rated as the greatest in Sanskrit  Literature.