Shloka 12
विदेहराजदुहिता चात्र श्लोकमगायत,(स्त्रियोंके कर्तव्यके विषयमें) विदेहग़ाज जनककी पुत्रीने एक श्लोकका गान किया है, जिसका सारांश इस प्रकार है--स्त्रीके लिये कोई यज्ञ आदि कर्म, श्राद्ध और उपवास करना आवश्यक नहीं है। उसका धर्म है अपने पतिकी सेवा। उसीसे स्त्रियाँ सस््वर्गलोकपर विजय पा लेती हैं
videharāja-duhitā cātra ślokam agāyat | (strīṇāṃ kartavya-viṣaye) videha-rājo janako 'sya putrī ekasya ślokasya gānaṃ cakāra, yasya sārāṃśaḥ evam—striyai na kaścid yajñādi-karma, na śrāddhaṃ, na upavāsaḥ avaśyakaḥ; strīṇāṃ dharmaḥ pati-sevā; tayā eva striyaḥ svarga-lokaṃ jayanti |
Bhīṣma said: “Here, the daughter of the king of Videha sang a verse concerning a woman’s duties. The daughter of Janaka of Videha expressed, in essence, that for a woman there is no compulsory need for sacrificial rites, ancestral offerings (śrāddha), or fasting; her dharma is devoted service to her husband. By that very devotion, women attain victory in heaven.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage prioritizes ethical duty (dharma) defined as devoted marital service for women, presenting it as sufficient for spiritual merit, even without undertaking major ritual observances like yajña, śrāddha, or fasting.
Bhīṣma, while instructing on dharma in the Anuśāsana Parva, cites a remembered verse sung by Janaka’s daughter of Videha to support a teaching about women’s prescribed duties and the religious value attributed to them.