Shloka 36
पापात्म-धर्मात्म-लक्षणम् तथा निर्वेदेन मोक्षमार्गः | Marks of the Sinful and the Righteous; Dispassion (Nirveda) as a Path to Liberation
पाणिबन्ध॑ स्वयं कृत्वा सह धर्ममुपेत्य च । यदा यास्यन्ति पुरुषा: स्त्रियो नार्हन्ति वाच्यताम्
pāṇibandhaṃ svayaṃ kṛtvā saha dharmam upetya ca | yadā yāsyanti puruṣāḥ striyo nārhanti vācyatām ||
Bhishma dit : «Lorsque les hommes, après avoir eux-mêmes accompli le rite du mariage (en prenant la main de la femme) et s’être engagés à pratiquer le dharma ensemble, vont pourtant vers d’autres femmes, alors on ne doit ni blâmer ni réprimander les femmes pour cela.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral responsibility lies with the wrongdoer: if men violate the marital vow of shared dharma by pursuing other women, women should not be blamed; the ethical fault is the man’s breach of duty.
In Bhishma’s instruction in the Shanti Parva, he critiques social and moral decline: despite solemnizing marriage through the hand-taking rite and pledging joint righteous conduct, men still pursue other women; therefore, censure should not fall on women.