Shloka 7
Vipula’s Guru-Obedience, Divine Flowers, and the Peril of Others’ Oaths (विपुलोपाख्यानम्—पुष्पप्राप्तिः शपथ-प्रसङ्गश्च)
हसन्तं प्रहसन्त्येता रुदन्तं प्ररुदन्ति च
hasantaṃ prahasanti etā rudantaṃ prarudanti ca
Yudhiṣṭhira dijo: «Si uno ríe, ellas ríen en respuesta; y si uno llora, ellas también lloran.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights emotional reciprocity: a person’s displayed mood tends to be reflected back by close companions—here, women in the household—implying an ethical responsibility to cultivate steadiness and kindness, since one’s conduct shapes the emotional climate around them.
Yudhiṣṭhira is speaking within the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-oriented discourse, describing how “these women” respond to a man’s emotional expressions—laughing when he laughs and weeping when he weeps—within a broader discussion of household conduct and interpersonal behavior.