Shloka 46
Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha
अनुकम्प्यो नर: पत्न्या पुष्टो रक्षित एव च,“जो पुरुष होकर भी स्त्रीके द्वारा अपना पालन-पोषण और संरक्षण करता है, वह मनुष्य दयाका पात्र है
anukampyo naraḥ patnyā puṣṭo rakṣita eva ca
Nakula says: “A man who is maintained and protected by his wife is truly an object of compassion.” The remark underscores a social-ethical expectation of self-reliance and the husband’s duty of protection; when that order is reversed, it is presented as a pitiable condition rather than a virtue.
नकुल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic ideal of the householder order: the husband is expected to provide and protect, while the wife supports the household in complementary ways. If a man depends on his wife for sustenance and protection, it is portrayed as a reversal of duty and thus a pitiable state.
Nakula is speaking and makes a pointed ethical observation about household responsibility and dependence, using the image of a husband being maintained and protected by his wife to express social censure and evoke compassion.