Shloka 48
अध्याय ७४: अक्रोध–क्षमा–निवासनीति
Chapter 74: Non-anger, Forbearance, and the Ethics of Residence
आत्मा55त्मनैव जनित: पुत्र इत्युच्यते बुधैः । तस्माद् भार्या नर: पश्येन्मातृवत् पुत्रमातरम्,'पत्नीके गर्भसे अपने द्वारा उत्पन्न किये हुए आत्माको ही विद्वान् पुरुष पुत्र कहते हैं, इसलिये मनुष्यको चाहिये कि वह अपनी उस धर्मपत्नीको जो पुत्रकी माता बन चुकी है, माताके ही समान देखे
ātmā ātmanāiva janitaḥ putra ity ucyate budhaiḥ | tasmād bhāryā naraḥ paśyen mātṛvat putramātaram ||
Duṣyanta said: “The wise declare that a son is one’s own self, born from oneself. Therefore a man should regard his wife—who has become the mother of his child—as he would his own mother.”
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
A son is regarded as one’s own self continued; therefore the wife who becomes the child’s mother deserves reverence comparable to one’s mother—an ethical injunction to honor motherhood and uphold marital dharma.
Duṣyanta articulates a dharmic principle about lineage and family conduct, emphasizing that because the child is an extension of the father’s self, the mother of that child (the wife) should be treated with special respect.