Shloka 9
Putra-Bheda: Kṣetraja, Kṛtaka, Apasada, and Saṃskāra Determinations (पुत्रभेद-निर्णयः)
ईर्षवो मानकामाश्च चण्डाश्न सुहृदो5बुधा: । स्त्रियस्तु मानमर्हन्ति ता मानयत मानवा:
īrṣyavo mānakāmāś ca caṇḍāś ca suhṛdo 'budhāḥ | striyas tu mānam arhanti tā mānayata mānavāḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Les femmes peuvent être jalouses, désireuses d’honneur, promptes à la colère, affectueuses comme des amies, et souvent d’un cœur simple. Pourtant, les femmes sont dignes de respect. Aussi, ô hommes, honorez-les.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even if women (like all people) may display faults such as jealousy or quick temper, they are still ‘mānam arhanti’—worthy of honor. The verse frames respect for women as a moral duty that upholds dharma and social harmony.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma is instructing Yudhishthira on dharma and proper conduct. Here he gives a direct injunction to men to honor women, describing certain perceived traits and then concluding with the ethical imperative of respect.