Shloka 19

Parṇāda’s Report; Bāhuka’s Counsel; Damayantī’s Strategic Svayaṃvara Message (अध्याय ६८)

Devanagari script

भर्ता नाम पर नार्या भूषणं भूषणैर्विना । एषा हि रहिता तेन शोभमाना न शोभते,वास्तवमें पति ही नारीका सबसे श्रेष्ठ आभूषण है। उसके होनेसे वह बिना आभूषणोंके सुशोभित होती है; परंतु यह पतिरूप आभूषणसे रहित होनेके कारण शोभामयी होकर भी सुशोभित नहीं हो रही है

Transliteration

bhartā nāma parā nāryā bhūṣaṇaṁ bhūṣaṇair vinā | eṣā hi rahitā tena śobhamānā na śobhate ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira said: “A husband is truly a woman’s highest ornament—surpassing all other adornments. With him, she shines even without jewelry; but deprived of that ornament of a husband, though she may appear radiant, she does not truly seem adorned.”

Word by Word

भर्ताhusband

नामindeed / truly (emphatic particle)

परम्supreme, highest

नार्याःof a woman

भूषणम्ornament

भूषणैःwith ornaments

विनाwithout

एषाthis (woman)

हिfor / indeed

रहिताdeprived, bereft

तेनby him / with that (husband)

शोभमानाshining, appearing beautiful

नnot

शोभतेis beautiful / shines

Speaker

युदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

bhartā (husband) as an object/ideal

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse asserts a dharma-inflected social ideal: the husband is regarded as a woman’s foremost ‘ornament,’ implying that marital companionship/support is valued above external decoration and that social ‘adornment’ is tied to the presence of a spouse.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira is making a reflective statement about a woman’s condition and social perception, contrasting external jewelry with the ‘ornament’ of a husband, to underscore how bereavement or separation affects how she is viewed.