Shloka 17
लुब्धक-कपोत-कपोती-आख्यानम्
The Hunter and the Pigeon Couple: Expiation and Refuge-Ethics
यस्य भार्या गृहे नास्ति साध्वी च प्रियवादिनी । अरण्यं तेन गन्तव्यं यथारण्यं तथा गृहम्,“जिसके घरमें साध्वी और प्रिय वचन बोलने-वाली भार्या नहीं है, उसे तो वनमें चला जाना चाहिये; क्योंकि उसके लिये जैसा घर है, वैसा ही वन”
yasya bhāryā gṛhe nāsti sādhvī ca priyavādinī | araṇyaṃ tena gantavyaṃ yathāraṇyaṃ tathā gṛham ||
Bhīṣma said: “For the man whose home lacks a virtuous wife who speaks with kindness, the forest is where he should go; for him, a house without such companionship is no different from the wilderness.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A home becomes truly ‘home’ through dharmic companionship—especially a spouse marked by virtue and gentle, pleasing speech. Without such harmony and ethical conduct, domestic life loses its purpose and feels as barren as living in a forest.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right living, Bhīṣma continues advising on household life. He emphasizes the moral and emotional foundations of the gṛhastha-āśrama by contrasting a harmonious home with the loneliness of the wilderness.