Shloka 43

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

Devanagari script

न चन्द्रसूर्यों न तरुं पुंनाम्ना या निरीक्षते । भर्त॒वर्ज वरारोहा सा भवेद्‌ धर्मचारिणी

Transliteration

na candrasūryau na taruṁ puṁnāmnā yā nirīkṣate | bhartṛvarja varārohā sā bhaved dharmacāriṇī ||

Translation

Śrī Maheśvara said: “That noble lady who does not look upon the moon, the sun, or even a tree by the name of a man—except in the presence of her husband—should be regarded as one who practices dharma.”

Word by Word

नnot

चन्द्रसूर्यौthe moon and the sun

नnot

तरुम्a tree

पुंनाम्नाby/with a male name (i.e., by a man's name)

याwho (she who)

निरीक्षतेlooks at, gazes upon

भर्तृवर्जम्excluding (her) husband; other than her husband

वरारोहाa noble/beautiful woman (lit. one who ascends the best)

साshe

भवेत्would be, should be

धर्मचारिणीa woman who practices righteousness; faithful/virtuous woman

Speaker

श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Maheśvara

candra (moon)

sūrya (sun)

taru (tree)

bhartṛ (husband)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents an ideal of strict restraint and exclusive marital orientation: a woman is called dharma-practicing when her attention and regard are regulated so that her husband alone is the permitted focus, reflecting a traditional model of strīdharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śrī Maheśvara is describing a normative standard of conduct for a ‘noble lady’ (varārohā), defining dharmic behavior in terms of guarded gaze and exclusivity toward the husband.