Shloka 35
Adhyāya 14: Sudēṣṇā Sends Sairandhrī to Kīcaka’s House (सुदेष्णा–सैरन्ध्री–कीचक संवादः)
(स्वेषु दारेषु मेधावी कुरुते यत्नमुत्तमम् | स्वदारनिरतो हाशु नरो भद्राणि पश्यति ।।
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
svēṣu dārēṣu mēdhāvī kurutē yatnam uttamam |
svadāranirataḥ śīghraṁ naro bhadrāṇi paśyati ||
na cādharmeṇa lipyeta na cākīrtim avāpnuyāt |
svadārēṣu ratiḥ dharmo mṛtasya api na saṁśayaḥ ||
svajātidārā martyasya ihaloke paratra ca |
pretakāryāṇi kurvanti nivāpais tarpayanti ca ||
tad akṣayyaṁ ca dharmyaṁ ca svargyam āhur manīṣiṇaḥ |
svajātidārajāḥ putrā jāyante kulapūjitāḥ ||
priyā hi prāṇināṁ dārās tasmāt tvaṁ dharmabhāg bhava |
paradārarato martyo na ca bhadrāṇi paśyati ||
paradārāsmi bhadraṁ te na yuktaṁ tava sāmpratam |
dayitāḥ prāṇināṁ dārā dharmaṁ samanucintaya ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “A wise man exerts his best effort to keep harmony with his own wife; devoted to his own spouse, a man quickly comes to see welfare and good fortune. One should not be stained by unrighteous conduct, nor incur disgrace. Affection and fidelity toward one’s own wife is declared to be a supreme dharma—beneficial even for a man after death, without doubt. A wife of one’s own community is a benefactor to a man both in this world and the next: she performs the rites for the departed and satisfies the deceased with offerings of water and food. The learned call such service imperishable, righteous, and a cause of heaven; sons born of a wife of one’s own community are honored within the lineage. Indeed, to all beings their own wives are dear; therefore you too become a sharer in dharma. But a man who pursues another’s wife never beholds true good. ‘Moreover, I am another man’s wife—may good be yours. It is not proper for you, at this moment, to speak to me in this manner. For all creatures, their own wives are beloved; reflect upon dharma.’”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage teaches that devotion to one’s own spouse is a central form of dharma: it protects one from adharma and disgrace, brings welfare, and is linked to enduring merit through household and ancestral duties. Pursuing another’s wife is condemned as a path that blocks true well-being.
In the Virāṭa-parvan context, the narration presents a moral admonition: the speaker (through Vaiśampāyana’s report) articulates norms of righteous conduct regarding women and marriage, and includes a direct refusal—‘I am another’s wife; it is not proper to speak so now’—urging the listener to reflect on dharma.