Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 1

Strī-dharma: Śiva’s Inquiry, Umā’s Consultation, and Gaṅgā’s Instruction

Devanagari script

नील (0) ++_अस+- एकोनत्रिशर्दाधिकशततमो<् ध्याय: लोमशद्ारा धर्मके रहस्यका वर्णन लोगश उवाच परदारेषु ये सक्ता अकृत्वा दारसंग्रहम्‌ | निराशा: पितरस्तेषां श्राद्धकाले भवन्ति वै

Transliteration

Lomaśa uvāca | paradāreṣu ye saktā akṛtvā dārasaṅgraham | nirāśāḥ pitaras teṣāṃ śrāddhakāle bhavanti vai ||

Translation

Lomaśa dit : Ceux qui, sans contracter un mariage légitime, s’attachent aux épouses d’autrui—lorsque vient le temps des rites de śrāddha, leurs ancêtres demeurent assurément déçus, car une telle conduite contraire au dharma ruine les offrandes attendues et la continuité du devoir domestique.

Word by Word

• {'Lomaśa uvāca': 'Lomaśa said', 'paradāreṣu': 'in others’ wives

• with respect to another man’s spouse', 'ye': 'who (those who)', 'saktāḥ': 'attached, addicted, engrossed', 'akṛtvā': 'not having done

• without doing', 'dāra-saṅgraham': 'taking a wife

• entering household life through marriage', 'nirāśāḥ': 'hopeless, disappointed, left without expectation', 'pitaraḥ': 'the ancestors (manes)', 'teṣām': 'of them', 'śrāddha-kāle': 'at the time of śrāddha (ancestral rite)', 'bhavanti': 'become, are', 'vai': 'indeed, certainly (emphatic particle)'}

Speaker

लोगश उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Lomaśa
• pitaraḥ (ancestors)
• śrāddha (ancestral rite)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse condemns attachment to others’ wives and stresses gṛhastha-dharma: lawful marriage and household responsibility sustain social and ritual obligations, including śrāddha; violating sexual ethics disrupts one’s duty to ancestors.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instructional context, the sage Lomaśa states a moral consequence: men who avoid proper marriage yet pursue illicit relations cause their ancestors to be ‘disappointed’ at śrāddha time, implying failure of ritual support and lineage duty.