Shloka 8
Gṛdhra–Jambuka Saṃvāda (Dialogue of the Vulture and the Jackal) — On Grief, Kāla, and Resolve
विसृज्य धनसर्वस्वं भर्ता वै शरणं स्त्रिया: । 'सत्रीके लिये पतिके समान कोई रक्षक नहीं है और पतिके तुल्य कोई सुख नहीं है। उसके लिये तो धन और सर्वस्वको त्यागकर पति ही एकमात्र गति है ।। न कार्यमिह मे नाथ जीवितेन त्वया विना
visṛjya dhana-sarvasvaṁ bhartā vai śaraṇaṁ striyāḥ | na kāryam iha me nātha jīvitena tvayā vinā ||
Bhīṣma said: “Casting aside wealth and all possessions, a woman’s true refuge is her husband. O lord, without you, life itself has no purpose for me in this world.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a normative dharma-ideal in which a married woman regards her husband as her primary refuge, valuing that bond above wealth and even life’s ordinary aims.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma; here he cites a statement expressing the traditional ideal of wifely dependence and loyalty, emphasizing the husband’s role as protector and the wife’s single-minded commitment.