Shloka 49
Adhyāya 152 — Bhīṣma’s Authorization for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Return to the Capital (नगरप्रवेशानुज्ञा)
अग्निकार्यपरा नित्यं सदा पुष्पबलिप्रदा । देवतातिथि भृत्यानां निर्वाप्प पतिना सह
agnikāryaparā nityaṃ sadā puṣpabalipradā | devatātithi-bhṛtyānāṃ nirvāpaṃ patinā saha ||
Maheshvara dit : « Celle qui se voue sans cesse aux rites du feu sacré, qui offre continuellement fleurs et oblations, et qui—avec son époux—satisfait d’abord les dieux, les hôtes et ceux qui dépendent du foyer en leur donnant la part de nourriture qui leur est due, incarne l’ordre discipliné d’une maison juste. Une telle femme, par le fruit du satī-dharma (la vertu fidèle de l’épouse), se trouve comblée de mérite. »
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches gṛhastha-dharma as an ethical discipline: a virtuous wife (with her husband) sustains the household’s sacred order by maintaining fire-rites, making offerings, honoring guests, and feeding dependents before eating herself—thereby accruing the merit associated with satī-dharma.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s didactic setting, Maheśvara describes the qualities and daily conduct of an exemplary householder woman, emphasizing ritual observance and social responsibility (deities, guests, dependents) as marks of righteous domestic life.