Shloka 31

Devanagari script

न हि भार्येति विश्वास: कार्य: पुंसा कथंचन । न हि कार्यमनुध्याति नारी पुत्रवती सती,यह मेरी भार्या है, ऐसा मानकर पुरुषको किसी प्रकार भी स्त्रीपर विश्वास नहीं करना चाहिये; क्योंकि नारी पुत्रवती हो जानेपर पतिसेवा आदि अपने कर्तव्योंपर ध्यान नहीं देती

Transliteration

na hi bhāryeti viśvāsaḥ kāryaḥ puṁsā kathaṁcana | na hi kāryam anudhyāti nārī putravatī satī ||

Translation

قال ماندابالا: «لا ينبغي للرجل، في أي حالٍ كان، أن يضع ثقته في امرأة لمجرد أنه يقول: “إنها زوجتي”. فإن المرأة إذا صارت أمًّا لأبناءٍ ذكور لا يعود ذهنها ثابتًا على واجباتها (كخدمة الزوج ونحوها).»

Word by Word

नnot

हिindeed/for

भार्याwife

इतिthus/quoting

विश्वासःtrust/confidence

कार्यःto be done/should be made

पुंसाby a man

कथंचनin any way/at all

नnot

हिindeed/for

कार्यम्duty/task

अनुध्यातिreflects on/keeps in mind

नारीwoman

पुत्रवतीhaving a son/children

सतीbeing/when she is

Speaker

मन्दपाल उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mandapāla

bhāryā (wife)

nārī (woman)

putra (son)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse voices Mandapāla’s distrustful, cautionary stance: one should not rely on marital status alone as a guarantee of unwavering attention to spousal duties; he claims that motherhood can redirect a woman’s priorities toward children rather than husband-centered obligations.

What is happening in the narrative?

In this section of the Ādi Parva, Mandapāla is speaking and expresses a sharp, generalized judgment about wives and mothers, using it to justify his attitude and decisions within the ongoing episode involving his domestic and familial concerns.