Shloka 3
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 158 — Aṅgāraparṇa-saṃvāda and Gaṅgā-tīrtha Saṃghaṭṭa
Encounter at the Gaṅgā ford
भार्या पुत्रो5थ दुहिता सर्वमात्मार्थमिष्यते । व्यथां जहि सुबुद्धया त्वं स्वयं यास्यामि तत्र च,पत्नी, पुत्र और पुत्री--ये सब अपने ही लिये अभीष्ट होते हैं। आप उत्तम बुद्धि- विवेकका आश्रय लेकर शोक-संताप छोड़िये। मैं स्वयं वहाँ (राक्षसके समीप) चली जाऊँगी। पत्नीके लिये लोकमें सबसे बढ़कर यही सनातन कर्तव्य है कि वह अपने प्राणोंको भी निछावर करके पतिकी भलाई करे
bhāryā putro ’tha duhitā sarvam ātmārtham iṣyate | vyathāṃ jahi subuddhayā tvaṃ svayaṃ yāsyāmi tatra ca | patnyai loke sarvato ’dhikaṃ hy etat sanātanaṃ kartavyaṃ yat prāṇān api niśāvarī-kṛtya patyur hitam ācaret |
The Brahmin’s wife declares that a wife, a son, and a daughter are each naturally dear for one’s own sake; therefore the Brahmin should, with clear discernment, abandon grief and agitation. She resolves to go herself to the place where the rākṣasa is, asserting a traditional ethical ideal: a wife’s highest enduring duty is to secure her husband’s welfare even at the cost of her own life. The verse frames self-sacrifice not as despair but as a deliberate choice grounded in dharma and marital loyalty.
ब्राह्मण उवाच