Shloka 20
Yakṣa-saṃvāda: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Interrogation at the Guarded Water
श्वश्वृं शरीरसत्कारै: सर्वैराच्छादनादिभि: | श्वशुरं देवसत्कारैर्वाच: संयमनेन च,उसने शारीरिक सेवा तथा वस्त्राभूषण आदिके द्वारा सासको और वाणीके संयमपूर्वक देवोचित सत्कारद्वारा ससुरको संतुष्ट किया
śvaśrūṃ śarīra-satkāraiḥ sarvair ācchādanādibhiḥ | śvaśuraṃ deva-satkārair vācaḥ saṃyamanena ca ||
He pleased his mother-in-law through every kind of bodily service and respectful care—providing coverings, garments, and the like; and he satisfied his father-in-law by honoring him as one would a deity, chiefly through disciplined, restrained speech. The passage highlights household dharma: reverence to elders expressed through service, modesty, and self-control.
इुमत्सेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Household dharma is fulfilled by honoring elders through tangible service and by disciplined speech; reverence is shown not only by gifts and care but also by self-restraint in words.
The speaker describes how one wins the goodwill of in-laws: the mother-in-law is pleased through attentive physical service and provisions like clothing, while the father-in-law is satisfied through deity-like respect expressed especially via controlled, respectful speech.