Shloka 49
Adhyāya 152 — Bhīṣma’s Authorization for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Return to the Capital (नगरप्रवेशानुज्ञा)
अग्निकार्यपरा नित्यं सदा पुष्पबलिप्रदा । देवतातिथि भृत्यानां निर्वाप्प पतिना सह
agnikāryaparā nityaṃ sadā puṣpabalipradā | devatātithi-bhṛtyānāṃ nirvāpaṃ patinā saha ||
Maheshvara disse: “Aquela que é sempre devotada aos ritos do fogo sagrado, que constantemente oferece flores e oblações rituais, e que—junto com o marido—primeiro satisfaz os deuses, os hóspedes e os dependentes da casa com as porções de alimento que lhes são devidas, encarna a ordem disciplinada de um lar justo. Tal mulher, pelo fruto do satī-dharma (a virtuosa fidelidade da esposa), é dotada de mérito.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches gṛhastha-dharma as an ethical discipline: a virtuous wife (with her husband) sustains the household’s sacred order by maintaining fire-rites, making offerings, honoring guests, and feeding dependents before eating herself—thereby accruing the merit associated with satī-dharma.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s didactic setting, Maheśvara describes the qualities and daily conduct of an exemplary householder woman, emphasizing ritual observance and social responsibility (deities, guests, dependents) as marks of righteous domestic life.