Shloka 21
Droṇotpattiḥ and Dhanurveda-Prāpti
Origin of Droṇa and Acquisition of Martial Science
भद्रोवाच नारी परमधर्मज्ञ सर्वा भर्तृविनाकृता । पतिं विना जीवति या न सा जीवति दुःखिता
bhadro'vāca nārī paramadharmajña sarvā bhartṛvinākṛtā | patiṁ vinā jīvati yā na sā jīvati duḥkhitā ||
ಭದ್ರಳು ಹೇಳಿದಳು—ಓ ಪರಮಧರ್ಮಜ್ಞ ರಾಜಾ! ಭರ್ತೃವಿಹೀನಳಾದ ಸ್ತ್ರೀ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ನಿರಾಶ್ರಯಳಾಗುತ್ತಾಳೆ. ಪತಿಯನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಬದುಕುವವಳು ದುಃಖದಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಳುಗಿ ನಿಜವಾಗಿ ಬದುಕುವುದಿಲ್ಲ; ಅವಳು ಮೃತಸಮಾನಳೇ.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse voices a traditional dharma-based view that a woman’s life is socially and emotionally bound to her husband; without him, her existence is portrayed as overwhelmed by grief and lacking fullness. It reflects the epic’s exploration of duty, dependence, and the human cost of loss.
Bhadra addresses a king praised as a knower of dharma and makes a pointed statement about the condition of a woman bereft of her husband, emphasizing the depth of sorrow and the perceived incompleteness of life after widowhood.