Shloka 5
Pātra-Lakṣaṇa and Niścita-Dharma
Marks of a Worthy Recipient and Stable Criteria of Dharma
उत्तरां मां दिशं विद्धि दृष्टं सत्रीचापलं च ते । स्थविराणामपि स्त्रीणां बाधते मैथुनज्वर:
uttarāṁ māṁ diśaṁ viddhi dṛṣṭaṁ satrīcāpalaṁ ca te | sthavirāṇām api strīṇāṁ bādhate maithunajvaraḥ ||
“मला उत्तर दिशेचा संकेत समज. स्त्रीची चंचलता तू प्रत्यक्ष पाहिली आहेस. वृद्ध स्त्रियांनाही मैथुन-इच्छेचा ज्वर बाधतो; कामजन्य संताप त्यांना छळतो.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the persistence and intensity of kāma (sexual desire), portraying it as a ‘fever’ that can afflict even the elderly; ethically, it functions as a warning about the need for vigilance and self-restraint in matters of desire.
Bhīṣma, in an instructive mode within the Anuśāsana Parva, addresses his listener with a pointed observation: the listener has already witnessed women’s restlessness, and Bhīṣma reinforces the point by stating that the agitation of sexual craving can trouble even older women.