Shloka 40
Adhyāya 152 — Bhīṣma’s Authorization for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Return to the Capital (नगरप्रवेशानुज्ञा)
देववत् सततं साध्वी भर्तारमनुपश्यति । दम्पत्योरेष वै धर्म: सहधर्मकृत: शुभ:
devavat satataṁ sādhvī bhartāram anupaśyati | dampatyor eṣa vai dharmaḥ sahadharmakṛtaḥ śubhaḥ ||
মহেশ্বর বললেন—সাধ্বী নারী দেবতার ন্যায় সর্বদা স্বামীর প্রতি দৃষ্টি ও যত্ন রাখে। স্বামী-স্ত্রীর এটাই ধর্ম—একত্রে সম্পাদিত সহধর্ম, যা মঙ্গলময়।
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the dharma of marriage is a shared, auspicious partnership in righteous conduct (sahadharma). It presents the ideal of the virtuous wife maintaining continual reverent regard for her husband, framing household life as a cooperative moral discipline.
Śrī Mahēśvara (Śiva) is speaking within the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused discourse, articulating norms of household and marital duty. The statement functions as a prescriptive teaching on how spouses—especially the wife in this verse—should embody dharma within marriage.