Shloka 5
Pātra-Lakṣaṇa and Niścita-Dharma
Marks of a Worthy Recipient and Stable Criteria of Dharma
उत्तरां मां दिशं विद्धि दृष्टं सत्रीचापलं च ते । स्थविराणामपि स्त्रीणां बाधते मैथुनज्वर:
uttarāṁ māṁ diśaṁ viddhi dṛṣṭaṁ satrīcāpalaṁ ca te | sthavirāṇām api strīṇāṁ bādhate maithunajvaraḥ ||
Sie sprach: „Wisse, dass ich dir die nördliche Richtung weise. Du hast selbst mit eigenen Augen gesehen, wie wankelmütig und ruhelos eine Frau sein kann. Selbst betagte Frauen werden vom Fieber des geschlechtlichen Begehrens befallen; die aus dem Verlangen geborene Qual bedrängt sie weiterhin.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the persistence and intensity of kāma (sexual desire), portraying it as a ‘fever’ that can afflict even the elderly; ethically, it functions as a warning about the need for vigilance and self-restraint in matters of desire.
Bhīṣma, in an instructive mode within the Anuśāsana Parva, addresses his listener with a pointed observation: the listener has already witnessed women’s restlessness, and Bhīṣma reinforces the point by stating that the agitation of sexual craving can trouble even older women.