Shloka 5
Pātra-Lakṣaṇa and Niścita-Dharma
Marks of a Worthy Recipient and Stable Criteria of Dharma
उत्तरां मां दिशं विद्धि दृष्टं सत्रीचापलं च ते । स्थविराणामपि स्त्रीणां बाधते मैथुनज्वर:
uttarāṁ māṁ diśaṁ viddhi dṛṣṭaṁ satrīcāpalaṁ ca te | sthavirāṇām api strīṇāṁ bādhate maithunajvaraḥ ||
“મને ઉત્તર દિશાનો સંકેત માનો. સ્ત્રીની ચપળતા તમે પ્રત્યક્ષ જોઈ છે. વૃદ્ધ સ્ત્રીઓને પણ મૈથુન-ઇચ્છાનો જ્વર પીડાવે છે; કામજનિત સંતાપ તેમને કષ્ટ આપે છે.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the persistence and intensity of kāma (sexual desire), portraying it as a ‘fever’ that can afflict even the elderly; ethically, it functions as a warning about the need for vigilance and self-restraint in matters of desire.
Bhīṣma, in an instructive mode within the Anuśāsana Parva, addresses his listener with a pointed observation: the listener has already witnessed women’s restlessness, and Bhīṣma reinforces the point by stating that the agitation of sexual craving can trouble even older women.