Shloka 12
Adhyāya 152 — Bhīṣma’s Authorization for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Return to the Capital (नगरप्रवेशानुज्ञा)
(प्रमदोक्तं तु यत् किंचित् तत् स्त्रीषु बहु मन्यते । न तथा मन्यते स्त्रीषु पुरुषोक्तमनिन्दिते ।।
pramadoktaṁ tu yat kiñcit tat strīṣu bahu manyate | na tathā manyate strīṣu puruṣoktam anindite || anindite! tava sarvaḥ suviditaḥ strīdharmaḥ śāśvataḥ śubhe | tasmād aśeṣato brūhi svadharma vistareṇa me ||
Maheshvara dit : «Tout ce qu’une femme prononce de sa propre voix—fût-ce dans un instant d’inattention—reçoit souvent un grand poids parmi les femmes. Mais ce qu’un homme dit n’y est pas estimé de la même manière, ô irréprochable. Ô dame de bon augure, tu connais pleinement le dharma des femmes, éternel et bienfaisant. C’est pourquoi, dis-le-moi sans rien omettre : expose ton propre dharma en détail.»
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a social-psychological observation about whose words carry authority within women’s circles, and then pivots to a didactic aim: since the addressed woman is said to know the eternal strīdharma, she is asked to expound it fully. The ethical focus is on articulating svadharma (one’s proper duty) in a comprehensive way.
Śrīmaheśvara addresses a blameless, auspicious woman and remarks that women tend to give greater weight to what women themselves say than to what men say. He then requests her to describe, in detail, the traditional and enduring code of conduct (strīdharma) as she understands it.