Shloka 31
सुमनोवर्णकापेता भवामि व्रतचारिणी । “पतिदेवके बिना किसी भी स्थानमें अकेली रहना मुझे बिलकुल पसंद नहीं है। मेरे स्वामी जब कभी कुटुम्बके कार्यसे कभी परदेश चले जाते हैं, उन दिनों मैं फ़ूलोंका शृंगार नहीं धारण करती, अंगराग नहीं लगाती और निरन्तर ब्रह्मचर्यव्रतका पालन करती हूँ || ३० न्् यच्च भर्ता न पिबति यच्च भर्ता न सेवते
sumanovarṇakāpetā bhavāmi vratacāriṇī | yac ca bhartā na pibati yac ca bhartā na sevate |
Vaiśampāyana said: “When my husband is away, I abandon adornments and become a strict observer of vows. I do not wear floral ornaments, I do not apply unguents, and I maintain continence. Moreover, whatever my husband does not drink and whatever he does not partake of, I too refrain from.” The passage highlights wifely fidelity expressed through self-restraint and voluntary renunciation in the husband’s absence.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents pativratā-dharma as voluntary discipline: in the husband’s absence the wife adopts austerity, avoids adornment and sensual enjoyments, and aligns her conduct with what her husband himself refrains from—framing fidelity as ethical self-governance rather than mere social display.
Vaiśampāyana reports a woman’s statement of her personal observances: she describes how she lives when her husband is away—setting aside ornaments, maintaining continence, and abstaining from what her husband does not consume—thereby characterizing her conduct through vows and restraint.