Shloka 3
Putra-Bheda: Kṣetraja, Kṛtaka, Apasada, and Saṃskāra Determinations (पुत्रभेद-निर्णयः)
पितृभिभ्भ्रातृभिश्चापि श्वशुरैरथ देवरै: । पूज्या भूषयितव्याश्न॒ बहुकल्याणमीप्सुभि:
pitṛbhiḥ bhrātṛbhiś cāpi śvaśuraiḥ atha devaraiḥ | pūjyā bhūṣayitavyā ca bahu-kalyāṇam īpsubhiḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ceux qui désirent une prospérité abondante doivent honorer et parer la jeune épouse : les pères, les frères, les beaux-pères et les beaux-frères. Par un accueil respectueux et des dons de vêtements et de parures, ils maintiennent l’auspice et l’ordre juste de la famille.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Household dharma requires that a new bride be received with reverence and tangible honor (welcome, gifts, adornment). Such respectful conduct by the husband’s family is presented as a means to secure kalyāṇa—auspicious welfare—for the family and lineage.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he gives a specific social-ethical rule: the elders and male relatives (fathers/elders, brothers, father-in-law, brothers-in-law) should honor and adorn the newly married woman, emphasizing proper familial conduct and auspicious household order.