Shloka 24
चित्रसेन-समागमः / The Engagement with Citrasena and the Gandharvas
नाभुक्तवति नास्नाते नासंविष्टे च भर्तरि । न संविशामि नाश्नामि सदा कर्मकरेष्वपि,“पतियों और उनके सेवकोंको भोजन कराये बिना मैं कभी भोजन नहीं करती, उन्हें नहलाये बिना कभी नहाती नहीं हूँ तथा पतिदेव जबतक शयन न करें, तबतक मैं सोती भी नहीं हूँ
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: nābhuktavati nāsnāte nāsaṃviṣṭe ca bhartari | na saṃviśāmi nāśnāmi sadā karmakareṣv api ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “So long as my husband has not eaten, I do not eat; so long as he has not bathed, I do not bathe; and so long as he has not lain down to rest, I do not lie down. This is my constant rule—even with respect to those who serve and work in the household.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents an ethic of disciplined household conduct: prioritizing the well-being and proper care of one’s dependents—especially the husband in the traditional frame—before one’s own comfort (food, bathing, rest), extending the same conscientiousness even toward servants and workers.
In Vaiśampāyana’s narration, a woman’s statement of personal vows is reported: she describes her daily rule that she will not eat, bathe, or sleep until her husband (and, by implication, those under her care) have been attended to, illustrating her commitment to household duty and service.