Shloka 21
Droṇotpattiḥ and Dhanurveda-Prāpti
Origin of Droṇa and Acquisition of Martial Science
भद्रोवाच नारी परमधर्मज्ञ सर्वा भर्तृविनाकृता । पतिं विना जीवति या न सा जीवति दुःखिता,भद्रा बोली--परमधर्मज्ञ महाराज! जो कोई भी विधवा स्त्री पतिके बिना जीवन धारण करती है, वह निरन्तर दु:खमें डूबी रहनेके कारण वास्तवमें जीती नहीं, अपितु मृततुल्या है
bhadro'vāca nārī paramadharmajña sarvā bhartṛvinākṛtā | patiṁ vinā jīvati yā na sā jīvati duḥkhitā ||
قالت بهادرا: «أيها الملك، يا عارفَ الدارما العليا! إن المرأة إذا حُرمت زوجَها فقد سُلِبت كلَّ شيء. ومن تواصل العيش بلا سيدها لا تعيش حقًّا؛ إذ يلتهمها الحزن فتكون كمن ماتت سلفًا.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse voices a traditional dharma-based view that a woman’s life is socially and emotionally bound to her husband; without him, her existence is portrayed as overwhelmed by grief and lacking fullness. It reflects the epic’s exploration of duty, dependence, and the human cost of loss.
Bhadra addresses a king praised as a knower of dharma and makes a pointed statement about the condition of a woman bereft of her husband, emphasizing the depth of sorrow and the perceived incompleteness of life after widowhood.