Shloka 23
(मितं ददाति हि पिता मित॑ माता मितं सुतः । अमितस्य हि दातारं का पतिं नाभिनन्दति ।।) पिता, माता और पुत्र--ये सब परिमित मात्रामें ही सुख देते हैं, अपरिमित सुखको देनेवाला तो केवल पति है। ऐसे पतिका कौन स्त्री आदर नहीं करेगी? परित्यक्त: सुतश्नायं दुहितेयं तथा मया । बान्धवाश्ष परित्यक्तास्त्वदर्थ जीवितं च मे,आर्यपुत्र! आपके लिये मैंने यह पुत्र और पुत्री भी छोड़ दी, समस्त बन्धु-बान्धवोंको भी छोड़ दिया और अब अपना यह जीवन भी त्याग देनेको उद्यत हूँ
mitaṃ dadāti hi pitā mitaṃ mātā mitaṃ sutaḥ | amitasya hi dātāraṃ kā patiṃ nābhinandati || parityaktaḥ sutaś cāyaṃ duhitā ceyam tathā mayā | bāndhavāś ca parityaktās tvad-arthaṃ jīvitaṃ ca me, ārya-putra |
The brāhmaṇa said: “A father gives only measured happiness; a mother gives measured happiness; a son too gives only measured happiness. But who would not rejoice in a husband, the giver of unmeasured happiness? For your sake, noble sir, I have abandoned this son and this daughter; I have abandoned my kinsmen as well—and even my own life I am ready to relinquish for you.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts ‘limited’ forms of familial support (from father, mother, son) with the idealized husband as a source of ‘unlimited’ well-being, using this hierarchy to argue for the primacy of the marital bond and the intensity of spousal commitment—even to the point of renouncing other ties.
A brāhmaṇa speaker addresses a respected man (‘āryaputra’) in a persuasive, emotionally charged manner, claiming that for his sake the speaker has abandoned children and relatives and is even prepared to give up life—framing the addressed person (as husband/lord) as uniquely worthy of such devotion.