Shloka 128
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
ज्ञातीनां गृहमध्यस्था सक्तूनत्तु दिनक्षये । अभोग्या वीरसूरस्तु बिसस्तैन्यं करोति या
jñātīnāṁ gṛhamadhyasthā saktūn attu dinakṣaye | abhogyā vīrasūrastu bisastainyaṁ karoti yā ||
Viśvāmitra berkata: “Perempuan yang mencuri mṛṇāla/bisā akan menanggung dosa ini: meski tinggal di rumah di tengah sanak-kerabat, ia hidup dalam kehinaan dan hanya makan sattu pada penghujung hari; karena ternoda ia tak layak bagi kenikmatan suami; dan walau seorang brāhmaṇī, ia melahirkan putra yang garang, berwatak ksatria.”
विश्वामित्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even seemingly minor theft is treated as adharma that stains one’s social standing and domestic harmony; the verse presents moral causality through consequences affecting reputation, marital life, and offspring.
Viśvāmitra is enumerating the karmic/social penalties assigned to a woman who commits theft of lotus-stalk fibres (bisa/mṛṇāla), describing a life of household disgrace, meagre food, conjugal exclusion, and the birth of a fierce warrior-like son despite her brāhmaṇa status.