Shloka 4536

Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha

Devanagari script

स्त्रियो रक्ष्याश्न पोष्याश्न न त्वेवं वक्तुमहसि । 'शोभने! अपनी स्त्रीकी रक्षा और पालन-पोषण करना कीट-पतंग और पशुओंका भी कर्तव्य है; अतः तुम्हें ऐसी बात नहीं कहनी चाहिये

Transliteration

striyo rakṣyāś ca poṣyāś ca na tv evaṁ vaktum arhasi |

Translation

Nakula said: “Women are to be protected and supported; even insects and beasts are bound by this duty. Therefore you should not speak in this manner.”

Word by Word

स्त्रियःwomen

रक्ष्याःto be protected

चand

पोष्याःto be maintained/nourished

चand

नnot

त्वाyou (object)

एवंthus, in this way

वक्तुम्to say/speak

अर्हसिyou ought/are fit

Speaker

नकुल उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nakula

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Nakula emphasizes dharma in domestic and social life: protecting and providing for women is a basic moral obligation, so one should not speak in a way that denies or belittles that responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Ashvamedhika Parva, Nakula responds to someone’s statement by correcting it, asserting that the duty of protection and maintenance is fundamental—so fundamental that it is observed even among animals—and urging restraint and propriety in speech.