Shloka 34
Adhyāya 152 — Bhīṣma’s Authorization for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Return to the Capital (नगरप्रवेशानुज्ञा)
स्त्रीधर्म: पूर्व एवायं विवाहे बन्धुभि: कृत: । सहधर्मचरी भर्तुर्भवत्यग्निसमीपत:
strī-dharmaḥ pūrva evāyaṃ vivāhe bandhubhiḥ kṛtaḥ | saha-dharma-carī bhartur bhavaty agni-samīpataḥ ||
Mahesvara bersabda: “Kewajiban seorang istri ini telah ditetapkan sejak awal pada saat pernikahan oleh kaum kerabatnya. Sebab di hadapan api suci itulah ia menjadi sahadharmacāriṇī bagi suaminya—terikat untuk menempuh jalan dharma bersama.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that a wife’s dharma is formally affirmed at marriage by her family, and that the marital bond is a dharmic partnership: she becomes the husband’s saha-dharma-carī in the presence of Agni, the ritual witness.
Śrī Maheśvara explains the social-ritual foundation of marriage: during the wedding, the bride’s relatives instruct her in strī-dharma, and by the rite performed near the sacred fire she is established as her husband’s companion in religious and ethical duties.