Shloka 57
Adhyāya 152 — Bhīṣma’s Authorization for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Return to the Capital (नगरप्रवेशानुज्ञा)
यद्यकार्यमधर्म वा यदि वा प्राणनाशनम् । पतिर्ब्रूयाद् दरिद्रो वा व्याधितो वा कथंचन
yady akāryam adharmaṁ vā yadi vā prāṇanāśanam | patir brūyād daridro vā vyādhito vā kathaṁcana ||
Mahādeva dit : «Même si l’époux—tombé dans la pauvreté ou atteint d’une maladie quelconque—ordonnait ce qu’il ne faut pas faire, ou ce qui est adharma, voire ce qui mène à la perte de la vie, alors, le tenant pour le devoir d’un temps de détresse (āpaddharma), il convient de l’accomplir sur-le-champ, sans hésitation.»
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an extreme principle of āpaddharma: in a crisis, a wife is urged to follow the husband’s command without doubt, even when it appears improper or unrighteous, treating it as a special duty applicable to calamity.
Śrī Maheśvara is instructing on household and crisis-ethics, describing situations like poverty or illness and stating how one should respond to a husband’s directive under such distressing conditions.