Shloka 31
न हि भार्येति विश्वास: कार्य: पुंसा कथंचन । न हि कार्यमनुध्याति नारी पुत्रवती सती,यह मेरी भार्या है, ऐसा मानकर पुरुषको किसी प्रकार भी स्त्रीपर विश्वास नहीं करना चाहिये; क्योंकि नारी पुत्रवती हो जानेपर पतिसेवा आदि अपने कर्तव्योंपर ध्यान नहीं देती
na hi bhāryeti viśvāsaḥ kāryaḥ puṁsā kathaṁcana | na hi kāryam anudhyāti nārī putravatī satī ||
Mandapāla said: “A man should never, under any circumstance, place trust in a woman merely on the thought, ‘She is my wife.’ For once she has become a mother of sons, a woman does not keep her mind fixed on her duties (such as service to her husband).”
मन्दपाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse voices Mandapāla’s distrustful, cautionary stance: one should not rely on marital status alone as a guarantee of unwavering attention to spousal duties; he claims that motherhood can redirect a woman’s priorities toward children rather than husband-centered obligations.
In this section of the Ādi Parva, Mandapāla is speaking and expresses a sharp, generalized judgment about wives and mothers, using it to justify his attitude and decisions within the ongoing episode involving his domestic and familial concerns.