Shloka 41

Adhyāya 152 — Bhīṣma’s Authorization for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Return to the Capital (नगरप्रवेशानुज्ञा)

Devanagari script

साध्वी स्त्री सदा अपने पतिको देवताके समान समझती है। पति और पत्नीका यह सहधर्म (साथ-साथ रहकर धर्माचरण करना) रूप धर्म परम मंगलमय है ।। शुश्रूषां परिचारं च देवतुल्यं प्रकुर्वती । वश्या भावेन सुमना: सुव्रता सुखदर्शना । अनन्यचित्ता सुमुखी भर्तु: सा धर्मचारिणी,जो अपने हृदयके अनुरागके कारण स्वामीके अधीन रहती है, अपने चित्तको प्रसन्न रखती है, देवताके समान पतिकी सेवा और परिचर्या करती है, उत्तम व्रतका आश्रय लेती है ओर पतिके लिये सुखदायक सुन्दर वेष धारण किये रहती है, जिसका चित्त पतिके सिवा और किसीकी ओर नहीं जाता, पतिके समक्ष प्रसन्नचदन रहनेवाली वह स्त्री धर्मचारिणी मानी गयी है। जो स्वामीके कठोर वचन कहने या दोषपूर्ण दृष्टिसे देखनेपर भी प्रसन्नतासे मुसकराती रहती है, वही स्त्री पतिव्रता है

Transliteration

śrī-maheśvara uvāca | śuśrūṣāṃ paricāraṃ ca devatulyam prakurvatī | vaśyā bhāvena sumanāḥ suvratā sukhadarśanā | ananyacittā sumukhī bhartuḥ sā dharmacāriṇī | yā svāminaḥ kaṭhoravākye doṣadṛṣṭyā ca darśite 'pi prasannā smayamānā tiṣṭhati sā pativratā ||

Translation

Śrī Maheśvara said: A virtuous wife regards her husband as a deity. This shared way of life—husband and wife practicing dharma together—is supremely auspicious. She who renders attentive service and care to her husband as to a god; who remains willingly devoted to him with a gentle, compliant disposition; who keeps her mind cheerful; who undertakes noble vows and maintains a pleasing appearance for her husband’s happiness; whose heart does not turn toward anyone else; and who meets her husband with a bright, gracious face—such a woman is called a practitioner of dharma. And she who, even when her husband speaks harshly or looks upon her with fault-finding eyes, continues to smile with serenity—she alone is truly called devoted to her husband (pativratā).

Word by Word

शुश्रूषाम्service, attentive attendance

परिचारम्attendance, tending

चand

देवतुल्यम्like a deity, godlike

प्रकुर्वतीdoing, performing

वश्याभावेनby an attitude of submissiveness

सुमनाःcheerful-minded, good-hearted

सुव्रताof good vows/observances

सुखदर्शनाpleasant-looking; bringing pleasant sight

अनन्यचित्ताwith mind fixed on none other (than her husband)

सुमुखीfair-faced, pleasant-faced

भर्तुःof the husband; for the husband

साshe

धर्मचारिणीone who practices dharma; dutiful wife

Speaker

श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Maheśvara (Śiva)

husband (bhartṛ/pati)

wife (strī)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse defines an ideal of marital dharma: a wife’s steadfast, single-minded devotion expressed through respectful service, good conduct, and inner serenity—even under provocation—presented as highly auspicious ‘shared dharma’ within household life.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva’s didactic setting, Śrī Maheśvara speaks in a prescriptive, ethical mode, describing qualities by which a woman is recognized as dharmacāriṇī and pativratā, emphasizing household harmony and disciplined conduct.