Shloka 19

Parṇāda’s Report; Bāhuka’s Counsel; Damayantī’s Strategic Svayaṃvara Message (अध्याय ६८)

Devanagari script

भर्ता नाम पर नार्या भूषणं भूषणैर्विना । एषा हि रहिता तेन शोभमाना न शोभते,वास्तवमें पति ही नारीका सबसे श्रेष्ठ आभूषण है। उसके होनेसे वह बिना आभूषणोंके सुशोभित होती है; परंतु यह पतिरूप आभूषणसे रहित होनेके कारण शोभामयी होकर भी सुशोभित नहीं हो रही है

Transliteration

bhartā nāma parā nāryā bhūṣaṇaṁ bhūṣaṇair vinā | eṣā hi rahitā tena śobhamānā na śobhate ||

Translation

قال يودهِشْتِهيرا: «إن الزوج حقًّا هو أسمى زينة للمرأة—يفوق كل حُلِيّ. به تشرق وإن لم تتحلَّ بالجواهر؛ أمّا إذا حُرمت من تلك الزينة التي هي الزوج، فمهما بدت متألّقة لا تبدو كمن تزيّنت حقًّا.»

Word by Word

भर्ताhusband

नामindeed / truly (emphatic particle)

परम्supreme, highest

नार्याःof a woman

भूषणम्ornament

भूषणैःwith ornaments

विनाwithout

एषाthis (woman)

हिfor / indeed

रहिताdeprived, bereft

तेनby him / with that (husband)

शोभमानाshining, appearing beautiful

नnot

शोभतेis beautiful / shines

Speaker

युदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

bhartā (husband) as an object/ideal

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse asserts a dharma-inflected social ideal: the husband is regarded as a woman’s foremost ‘ornament,’ implying that marital companionship/support is valued above external decoration and that social ‘adornment’ is tied to the presence of a spouse.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira is making a reflective statement about a woman’s condition and social perception, contrasting external jewelry with the ‘ornament’ of a husband, to underscore how bereavement or separation affects how she is viewed.