Shloka 13
Power and Prudence — Chanakya Niti
सा भार्या या शुचिर्दक्षा सा भार्या या पतिव्रता ।
सा भार्या या पतिप्रीता सा भार्या सत्यवादिनी ॥
sā bhāryā yā śucir dakṣā sā bhāryā yā pativratā |
sā bhāryā yā patiprītā sā bhāryā satyavādinī ||
A true wife is pure and capable; devoted to her husband, pleasing to him, and truthful in speech.
FAQs
Within the broader Nīti-śāstra tradition, such verses are often read as reflecting elite, normative household ethics in premodern South Asia. The formulation presents a catalog of valued traits and indicates how domestic roles and moral language were conventionally framed in didactic literature, rather than documenting everyday practice across all social groups.
In this verse, the ideal is constructed through a set of descriptors: ritual/moral purity (śuci), competence (dakṣā), husband-centered devotion (pativratā), being dear or pleasing to the husband (patiprītā), and truthfulness (satyavādinī). The definition is presented as a traditional normative inventory rather than an argument or narrative.
The verse uses anaphoric repetition—“sā bhāryā yā …” (“that is a wife who …”)—as a mnemonic and emphatic device typical of aphoristic instruction. Key compounds (pativratā, patiprītā, satyavādinī) condense social ideals into compact labels, illustrating a common didactic style in classical Sanskrit moral literature.