Shloka 52
Adhyāya 152 — Bhīṣma’s Authorization for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Return to the Capital (नगरप्रवेशानुज्ञा)
ब्राह्मणान् दुर्बलानाथान् दीनान्धकृपणांस्तथा । बिभर्त्यन्नेन या नारी सा पतिव्रतभागिनी
brāhmaṇān durbalānāthān dīnāndhakṛpaṇāṁs tathā | bibharty annena yā nārī sā pativratabhāginī ||
Maheshvara dit : La femme qui, par la nourriture, entretient les brahmanes, les faibles, les sans-appui, les pauvres, les aveugles et les indigents—celle-là partage véritablement le mérite du pativratā-dharma. Sa fidélité ne se manifeste pas seulement dans la conduite privée, mais dans le devoir compatissant du foyer, où nourrir les vulnérables devient un acte éthique qui porte le fruit de la vertu d’épouse.
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Pativratā-dharma is expressed through compassionate household action: feeding and sustaining Brahmanas and vulnerable people is counted as a direct share in the merit of wifely virtue.
Śrīmaheśvara is instructing about the marks and fruits of an ideal wife’s dharma, highlighting that providing food to the needy is a concrete, meritorious practice aligned with pativratā conduct.