Shloka 128
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
ज्ञातीनां गृहमध्यस्था सक्तूनत्तु दिनक्षये । अभोग्या वीरसूरस्तु बिसस्तैन्यं करोति या
jñātīnāṁ gṛhamadhyasthā saktūn attu dinakṣaye | abhogyā vīrasūrastu bisastainyaṁ karoti yā ||
Viśvāmitra dit : «Que la femme qui a volé les fibres des tiges de lotus (mṛṇāla/bisā) encourre ce péché : demeurer au sein de la maison, parmi les siens, mais vivre dans l’opprobre, ne mangeant qu’à la fin du jour de la farine grillée (sattū) ; que, souillée, elle devienne impropre aux plaisirs conjugaux de son époux ; et que, bien qu’elle soit brāhmaṇī, elle enfante un fils farouche, au cœur de guerrier, d’un tempérament rude de kṣatriya.»
विश्वामित्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even seemingly minor theft is treated as adharma that stains one’s social standing and domestic harmony; the verse presents moral causality through consequences affecting reputation, marital life, and offspring.
Viśvāmitra is enumerating the karmic/social penalties assigned to a woman who commits theft of lotus-stalk fibres (bisa/mṛṇāla), describing a life of household disgrace, meagre food, conjugal exclusion, and the birth of a fierce warrior-like son despite her brāhmaṇa status.