Shloka 60
Chapter 2: Sudarśana Upākhyāna — Atithi-Dharma and the Conquest of Mṛtyu
Gṛhastha-Vrata
तस्मै प्रतिवच: सा तु भरत्रें न प्रददौ तदा । कराभ्यां तेन विप्रेण स्पृष्टा भर्तुव्॒ता सती
tasmai prativacaḥ sā tu bhartre na pradadau tadā | karābhyāṃ tena vipreṇa spṛṣṭā bhartṛvratā satī ||
কিন্তু তখন সে স্বামীকে কোনো উত্তর দিল না। অতিথিরূপে আগত সেই ব্রাহ্মণ দু’হাতে তাকে স্পর্শ করেছিল; তাই পতিব্রতা সতী নিজেকে কলুষিত মনে করে স্বামীর সামনেও লজ্জিত হয়ে নীরব রইল।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical ideal of pativratā-dharma as understood in the epic: a wife’s intense commitment to marital fidelity and personal purity, expressed here through silence born of shame after an unwanted touch, and the inner conflict between social-religious notions of purity and the realities of circumstance.
A virtuous wife, having been physically touched by a brahmin who arrived as a guest, feels herself compromised; when her husband expects a response, she gives none, remaining silent due to embarrassment and a sense of defilement.