Adhyaya 71 — The King’s Remorse and the Sage’s Counsel on the Necessity of a Wife
अपत्नीकॊ नरो भूप ! न योग्यॊ निजकर्मणाम् । ब्राह्मणः क्षत्रियॊ वापि वैश्यः शूद्रोऽपि वा नृप ॥
apatnīko naro bhūpa na yogyo nija-karmaṇām / brāhmaṇaḥ kṣatriyo vāpi vaiśyaḥ śūdro 'pi vā nṛpa
ಹೇ ರಾಜನ್! ಪತ್ನಿಯಿಲ್ಲದ ಪುರುಷನು ತನ್ನ ಸ್ವಧರ್ಮಕರ್ತವ್ಯಗಳಿಗೆ ಯೋಗ್ಯನಲ್ಲ—ಅವನು ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣನಾಗಲಿ, ಕ್ಷತ್ರಿಯನಾಗಲಿ, ವೈಶ್ಯನಾಗಲಿ ಅಥವಾ ಶೂದ್ರನಾಗಲಿ, ಹೇ ನೃಪಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ।
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
The text stresses the normative Purāṇic view that many duties—especially household rites and social responsibilities—presume a stable marital partnership; abandonment disrupts both personal and communal dharma.
Ethical instruction embedded in narrative (ancillary to vaṃśānucarita). It is not cosmological (sarga/pratisarga) nor chronological (manvantara) content.
‘Not fit for one’s own karma’ can be read as: without the balancing principle of commitment and reciprocity, action loses its sanctifying frame and becomes merely self-driven.