Shloka 40
Adhyāya 152 — Bhīṣma’s Authorization for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Return to the Capital (नगरप्रवेशानुज्ञा)
देववत् सततं साध्वी भर्तारमनुपश्यति । दम्पत्योरेष वै धर्म: सहधर्मकृत: शुभ:
devavat satataṁ sādhvī bhartāram anupaśyati | dampatyor eṣa vai dharmaḥ sahadharmakṛtaḥ śubhaḥ ||
Maheshvara bersabda: “Laksana dewa, istri yang suci senantiasa memandang, memperhatikan, dan melayani suaminya. Inilah dharma suami-istri: dharma bersama yang dijalankan berdua—jalan yang penuh berkah.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the dharma of marriage is a shared, auspicious partnership in righteous conduct (sahadharma). It presents the ideal of the virtuous wife maintaining continual reverent regard for her husband, framing household life as a cooperative moral discipline.
Śrī Mahēśvara (Śiva) is speaking within the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused discourse, articulating norms of household and marital duty. The statement functions as a prescriptive teaching on how spouses—especially the wife in this verse—should embody dharma within marriage.