Shloka 5
लुब्धक-कपोत-कपोती-आख्यानम्
The Hunter and the Pigeon Couple: Expiation and Refuge-Ethics
“क्या इस वनमें मेरी प्रिया कुशलसे होगी? उसके बिना आज मेरा यह घर-यह घोंसला सूना लग रहा है ।। पुत्रपौत्रवधू भृत्यैराकीर्णमपि सर्वतः । भारयहिीनं गृहस्थस्य शून्यमेव गृहं भवेत्,“पुत्र, पौत्र, पतोहू तथा अन्य भरण-पोषणके योग्य कुट॒म्बीजनोंसे भरा होनेपर भी गृहस्थका घर उसकी पत्नीके बिना सूना ही रहता है
bhīṣma uvāca | putra-pautra-vadhū-bhṛtyair ākīrṇam api sarvataḥ | bhāryā-vihīnaṃ gṛhasthasya śūnyam eva gṛhaṃ bhavet ||
Sekalipun rumah seorang grihastha dipenuhi dari segala sisi oleh putra, cucu, menantu perempuan, dan para pelayan, tanpa istri rumah itu sungguh menjadi hampa.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that in gṛhastha-dharma the wife is the essential support of the household; material fullness and even a large family do not remove the sense of emptiness when the spouse—the partner in dharma and daily life—is absent.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, Bhishma is articulating a reflective maxim about domestic life: despite a home being crowded with relatives and dependents, the householder experiences the home as truly ‘empty’ without his wife, highlighting her central role in the household order.