Shloka 39

Adhyāya 152 — Bhīṣma’s Authorization for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Return to the Capital (नगरप्रवेशानुज्ञा)

Devanagari script

जो पतिकी देवताके समान सेवा और परिचर्या करती हैं

Transliteration

yā patikī devatā-samāṃ sevāṃ paricaryāṃ ca karoti, patim ṛte ’nyasmin kasmiṃścid hārdikaṃ prema na karoti, kadācit na kupyati, uttama-vrataṃ ca pālayati; yasyā darśanaṃ pataye sukhadaṃ pratibhāti; yā putra-mukha-vat svāmi-mukhaṃ prati sadā niharati; yā sādhvī niyata-āhārā ca sā strī dharma-cāriṇī ucyate. śrutvā dāmpatya-dharmaṃ vai saha-dharma-kṛtaṃ śubham—“pati-patnyau ekatra sthitvā dharmācaraṇaṃ kartavyam” iti—yā bhavet dharma-paramā nārī bharta-sama-vratā sā pativratā.

Translation

Махешвара провозглашает: женщина называется истинной практикующей дхарму, когда она служит и заботится о муже, как о божестве, дарит сердечную любовь лишь ему одному, не впадает в гнев и верно хранит благородные обеты. Само её присутствие приятно супругу; она непрестанно обращает взор к лицу своего господина, как смотрят на лицо ребёнка с неизменной нежностью; она целомудренна и дисциплинированна, соблюдает меру в пище. Услышав этот благой закон супружества—что муж и жена должны жить вместе и совместно творить праведность,—та женщина, что становится преданной дхарме и соблюдает обеты в согласии с мужем, именуется пативрата (pativratā), верная обету мужа.

Word by Word

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि

• दम्पतिधर्मम्: the duty/law of husband and wife (conjugal duty)
• दम्पतिधर्मम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दम्पतिधर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• सहधर्मम्: shared/common dharma
• सहधर्मम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहधर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• कृतम्: done / performed
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Neuter, Accusative, Singular, कर्मणि/भावे

• शुभम्: auspicious
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• या: who (she who)
• या: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• भवेत्: would be / should become
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), present (modal), 3rd, Singular, परस्मैपद

• धर्मपरमा: supremely devoted to dharma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्मपरम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• नारी: woman
• नारी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• भर्तसमव्रता: having vows equal to her husband (sharing the husband's vow)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भर्तृ-सम-व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Maheśvara (Mahādeva/Śiva)
• pati (husband)
• patnī (wife)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage defines dharma in marriage as disciplined, faithful, and affectionate partnership: a wife is praised as dharma-cāriṇī when she is devoted, self-controlled, and aligned in vows with her husband, and when the couple practices dharma together (saha-dharma).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on conduct, Maheshvara speaks as a teacher, describing the qualities of an ideal dharmic wife and concluding that hearing and adopting this auspicious marital code makes a woman ‘bhartṛ-sama-vratā’—a pativratā who shares her husband’s vow-oriented life.