Shloka 16
चित्रसेन-समागमः / The Engagement with Citrasena and the Gandharvas
जलोदरसमायुक्ता: श्वित्रिण: पलितास्तथा । अपुमांस: कृताः स्त्रीभिर्जडान्धबधिरास्तथा,“कितनी ही स्त्रियोंने अपने पतियोंको (वशमें करनेकी आशासे हानिकारक दवाएँ खिलाकर उन्हें) जलोदर और कोढ़का रोगी, असमयमें ही वृद्ध, नपुंसक, अंधा, गूँगा और बहरा बना दिया है
jalodarasamāyuktāḥ śvitrīṇaḥ palitās tathā | apumāṃsaḥ kṛtāḥ strībhir jaḍāndhabadhirās tathā ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Many men have been made sufferers of dropsy, afflicted with leucoderma, prematurely grey, and even rendered impotent—made dull-witted, blind, and deaf as well—through the actions of women (who, hoping to bring their husbands under control, administer harmful drugs). The verse underscores the ethical warning that coercion and manipulation within marriage, especially through injurious means, leads to grave bodily and moral ruin.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse cautions against unethical control and manipulation in intimate relationships. Seeking dominance through harmful means—such as administering injurious substances—violates dharma and results in severe physical and moral consequences.
Vaiśaṃpāyana lists extreme harms that some women have caused to their husbands—dropsy, skin disease, premature ageing, impotence, dullness, blindness, and deafness—framing it as a warning example within the broader Vana Parva discourse.