Shloka 49
Adhyāya 152 — Bhīṣma’s Authorization for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Return to the Capital (नगरप्रवेशानुज्ञा)
अग्निकार्यपरा नित्यं सदा पुष्पबलिप्रदा । देवतातिथि भृत्यानां निर्वाप्प पतिना सह
agnikāryaparā nityaṃ sadā puṣpabalipradā | devatātithi-bhṛtyānāṃ nirvāpaṃ patinā saha ||
マヘーシュヴァラは言った。「常に聖火の務めに励み、絶えず花と供物を捧げ、そして—夫とともに—まず神々と客人と家に依る者たちを、しかるべき食の分け前で満たす女は、正しき家の規律ある秩序を体現する。その女はサティー・ダルマ（貞節なる妻の徳）の果によって功徳を具える。」
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches gṛhastha-dharma as an ethical discipline: a virtuous wife (with her husband) sustains the household’s sacred order by maintaining fire-rites, making offerings, honoring guests, and feeding dependents before eating herself—thereby accruing the merit associated with satī-dharma.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s didactic setting, Maheśvara describes the qualities and daily conduct of an exemplary householder woman, emphasizing ritual observance and social responsibility (deities, guests, dependents) as marks of righteous domestic life.