Shloka 55
Adhyāya 152 — Bhīṣma’s Authorization for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Return to the Capital (नगरप्रवेशानुज्ञा)
पतिर्ि देवो नारीणां पतिर्बन्धु: पतिर्गति: । पत्या समा गतिर्नास्ति दैवतं वा यथा पति:
patir hi devo nārīṇāṁ patir bandhuḥ patir gatiḥ | patyā samā gatir nāsti daivataṁ vā yathā patiḥ ||
Mahādeva disse: “Para as mulheres, o marido é a própria divindade; o marido é parente e protetor; o marido é refúgio e último amparo. Não há apoio igual ao marido, nem divindade comparável a ele.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a normative dharma-ideal in which a woman’s primary locus of reverence, protection, and worldly-spiritual support is her husband; it elevates marital fidelity and household order by portraying the husband as the closest ‘deity’ and refuge within that framework.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused discourse, Śrī Maheśvara speaks a didactic statement on strīdharma and the ethics of household life, emphasizing the husband’s role as the central support and object of reverence for women.