Shloka 8

लुब्धक-कपोत-कपोती-आख्यानम्

The Hunter and the Pigeon Couple: Expiation and Refuge-Ethics

Devanagari script

न भुड्धक्ते मय्यभुक्ते या नास्नाते स्नाति सुव्रता । नातिष्ठत्युपतिछेत शेते च शयिते मयि,“वह उत्तम व्रतका पालन करनेवाली पतिव्रता थी, इसलिये मुझे भोजन कराये बिना भोजन नहीं करती, नहलाये बिना स्नान नहीं करती, मुझे बैठाये बिना बैठती नहीं तथा मेरे सो जानेपर ही शयन करती थी

Transliteration

na bhuktānte mayy abhukte yā nāsnāte snāti suvratā | nātiṣṭhaty upatiṣṭhet śete ca śayite mayi ||

Translation

Bhīṣma disse: “Ela era uma mulher de votos excelentes, firme na fidelidade conjugal. Não comia sem que eu tivesse comido; não se banhava sem que eu tivesse me banhado. Não se sentava sem antes fazer-me sentar, e só se deitava para dormir depois que eu adormecia.”

Word by Word

नnot

भुङ्क्तेeats

मयिwhen I / in my case

अभुक्तेwhen (I am) not fed / not having eaten

याshe who

नnot

अस्नातेwhen (I am) not bathed

स्नातिbathes

सुव्रताa woman of good vows

नnot

आतिष्ठतिsits down / takes a seat

उपतिष्ठेतwould attend / would stand near (serve)

शेतेlies down / sleeps

चand

शयितेwhen (I am) lying down / when I have gone to bed

मयिwhen I (have done so) / in my case

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined, self-restrained devotion within household life: the wife’s conduct is portrayed as attentive service and prioritizing the husband’s needs, presented as an ideal of patnī-dharma (wifely duty) and suvrata (observance of vows).

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma describes the exemplary behavior of a devoted wife, listing her daily practices—eating, bathing, sitting, and sleeping only after him—to illustrate her steadfast vow and attentive service.