Shloka 6
लुब्धक-कपोत-कपोती-आख्यानम्
The Hunter and the Pigeon Couple: Expiation and Refuge-Ethics
न गृहं गृहमित्याहुर्गृहिणी गृहमुच्यते । गृहं तु गृुहिणीहीनमरण्यसदृशं मतम्,*वास्तवमें घरको घर नहीं कहते, घरवालीका ही नाम घर है। घरवालीके बिना जो घर होता है, उसे जंगलके समान ही माना गया है
na gṛhaṃ gṛham ity āhur gṛhiṇī gṛham ucyate | gṛhaṃ tu gṛhiṇī-hīnam araṇya-sadṛśaṃ matam ||
ພີສະມະ ກ່າວວ່າ: «ຜູ້ຄົນບໍ່ໄດ້ເອີ້ນແຕ່ຕຶກອາຄານວ່າ ‘ເຮືອນ’ ດອກ. ແມ່ເຮືອນ—ນາງເຈົ້າຂອງຄອບຄົວ—ນັ້ນແຫຼະທີ່ຖືກເອີ້ນວ່າ ‘ເຮືອນ’ ຢ່າງແທ້. ເຮືອນທີ່ຂາດແມ່ເຮືອນ ຖືກເຫັນວ່າເຫມືອນປ່າວັງເວີນ»។
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that ‘home’ is not merely a physical structure; it becomes a true household through the presence and role of the gṛhiṇī, who sustains domestic order, hospitality, and daily dharma. Without her, the house is ethically and socially ‘empty,’ likened to a forest.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he emphasizes the value of the household stage of life and the central place of the gṛhiṇī in maintaining a functioning, dharmic home.