Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 46
न नग्नामीक्षते नारीं न नग्नान् पुरुषानपि | मैथुनं सततं गुप्तमाहारं च समाचरेत्,नंगी स्त्रीकी ओर न देखे, नग्न पुरुषोंकी ओर भी दृष्टिपात न करे। मैथुन और भोजन सदा एकान्त स्थानमें ही करे
na nagnām īkṣate nārīṃ na nagnān puruṣān api | maithunaṃ satataṃ guptam āhāraṃ ca samācaret ||
Bhīṣma said: “One should not look upon a woman who is unclothed, nor upon unclothed men either. Sexual union and even the taking of food should always be done in privacy—guarded from public view—so that modesty and self-restraint are preserved.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches lajja (modesty) and saṃyama (self-restraint): avoid voyeuristic looking at nakedness, and keep intimate acts—sexual union and even eating—private, as part of disciplined ethical conduct.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and proper conduct (ācāra). This verse is one of his prescriptive rules emphasizing decorum and privacy in personal behavior.