Mahabharata — Adi Parva, Shloka 54
Pāṇḍu’s Marriages, Conquests, and Triumphal Return (पाण्डोर्विवाह-विजय-प्रत्यागमनम्)
सा धर्मतो<नुनीयैनां कथंचिद् धर्मचारिणीम् | भोजयामास वितष्रांश्र देवर्षीनतिथींस्तथा
sā dharmato 'nunīyaināṁ kathaṁcid dharmacāriṇīm | bhojayāmāsa vīta-tṛṣṇān devarṣīn atithīṁs tathā ||
सा धर्मतोऽनुनीयैनां कथञ्चिद् धर्मचारिणीम् । भोजयामास वितृष्णान् देवर्षीनतिथींस्तथा ॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is upheld not only through major vows but through concrete acts: persuading others without coercion and honoring Brahmins, seers, and guests through proper hospitality. Ethical action is shown as alignment with righteous duty and social-religious responsibility.
The speaker narrates that a woman, guided by dharma, manages—though with difficulty—to persuade another righteous woman to agree to a certain course of action; afterward she performs the customary duty of feeding Brahmins, divine seers, and guests, emphasizing ritual propriety and hospitality.