Shloka 21
Droṇotpattiḥ and Dhanurveda-Prāpti
Origin of Droṇa and Acquisition of Martial Science
भद्रोवाच नारी परमधर्मज्ञ सर्वा भर्तृविनाकृता । पतिं विना जीवति या न सा जीवति दुःखिता
bhadro'vāca nārī paramadharmajña sarvā bhartṛvinākṛtā | patiṁ vinā jīvati yā na sā jīvati duḥkhitā ||
Bhadrā dit : «Ô roi, connaisseur du dharma suprême ! Une femme, privée de son époux, est entièrement démunie. Celle qui continue de vivre sans son seigneur ne vit pas vraiment ; dévorée par le chagrin, elle subsiste comme déjà morte.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse voices a traditional dharma-based view that a woman’s life is socially and emotionally bound to her husband; without him, her existence is portrayed as overwhelmed by grief and lacking fullness. It reflects the epic’s exploration of duty, dependence, and the human cost of loss.
Bhadra addresses a king praised as a knower of dharma and makes a pointed statement about the condition of a woman bereft of her husband, emphasizing the depth of sorrow and the perceived incompleteness of life after widowhood.