Shloka 39
पापात्म-धर्मात्म-लक्षणम् तथा निर्वेदेन मोक्षमार्गः | Marks of the Sinful and the Righteous; Dispassion (Nirveda) as a Path to Liberation
स्त्रिया हि परमो भर्ता दैवतं परमं स्मृतम् तस्यात्मना तु सदृशमात्मानं परमं ददौ
striyā hi paramo bhartā daivataṁ paramaṁ smṛtam | tasyātmanā tu sadṛśam ātmānaṁ paramaṁ dadau ||
स्त्री के लिए पति ही परम स्वामी है; वही उसका सर्वोच्च देवता माना गया है। इसलिए वह अपना परम धन—अपना ही आत्म-समर्पण—उस पुरुष को करती है जो देह और वेश में उसके समान (अर्थात् पति के तुल्य) हो।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states a traditional dharma-ideal: a wife’s highest reverence is directed toward her husband, who is treated as her supreme ‘daivata’ (object of sacred regard). It frames marital fidelity and self-giving as a central ethical norm within the householder order.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma is explaining a principle of household conduct and women’s dharma. He emphasizes the culturally authoritative view that a wife entrusts her very self to the husband, understood as her primary protector and revered figure.