Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 127
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
अरुन्धत्युवाच नित्यं परिभवेच्छवश्रूं भर्तुर्भवतु दुर्मना: । एका स्वादु समाश्षातु बिसस्तैन्यं करोति या
arundhaty uvāca nityaṃ paribhavec chvaśrūṃ bhartur bhavatu durmanāḥ | ekā svādu samāśnīyāt bisastainyaṃ karoti yā ||
अरुन्धती बोलीं—जो स्त्री मृणाल (बिस) की चोरी करती है, उसे प्रतिदिन सास का तिरस्कार करने, पति को दुःखी करने और अकेली ही स्वादिष्ट वस्तुएँ खाने का दोष लगता है।
विश्वामित्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a seemingly small act of theft is treated as a serious breach of dharma, believed to generate further moral and relational harms—disrespect within the household, distress to one’s spouse, and selfish enjoyment—thereby warning against dishonesty and self-centered conduct.
In a didactic passage, Arundhatī states a moral consequence: a woman who commits theft of lotus-stalks is said to incur sins that manifest as habitual contempt toward her mother-in-law, causing sorrow to her husband, and eating delicacies alone—framing theft as corrosive to family harmony.