Shloka 26
सर्वलोकमिमं हन्युर्धर्मपाशसितास्तु ये । तेषां मां मानिनीं भार्या सूतपुत्र: पदावधीत्
sarvalokam imaṁ hanyur dharmapāśasitās tu ye | teṣāṁ māṁ māninīṁ bhāryā sūtaputraḥ padāvadhīt ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Mereka yang terikat oleh belenggu dharma sanggup menumbangkan seluruh dunia ini daripada melanggar kebenaran. Namun demi mereka, aku—seorang isteri yang bermaruah dan dihormati—telah ditendang dan dipijak oleh anak si pemandu kereta.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between dharma-based restraint and the pain caused when the righteous endure wrongdoing: adherence to dharma can demand forbearance even when one’s honor is violated, exposing the ethical cost of self-control in the face of injustice.
A narrator reports a grievance: although certain men are so bound by dharma that they would choose extreme action rather than violate righteousness, the speaker—describing herself as a dignified wife—was nevertheless insulted and physically humiliated (kicked) by someone derisively called the ‘charioteer’s son.’