Shloka 24
Strī-satkāra (On honoring women) — Mahābhārata 13.46
एताः कृत्याश्च कार्याश्च कृताश्च भरतर्षभ | न चैकस्मिन् रमन्त्येता: पुरुषे पाण्डुनन्दन
etāḥ kṛtyāś ca kāryāś ca kṛtāś ca bharatarṣabha | na caikasmin ramanty etāḥ puruṣe pāṇḍunandana ||
Vipula said: “O bull among the Bharatas, O son of Pāṇḍu: such women are like deadly sorceries—once ‘taken up’ by one man, they become fit to be taken up by another as well. They do not remain devoted to a single man; their attachment does not stay fixed in one place.”
विपुल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a harsh metaphor to warn that unchaste or unreliable attachment leads to instability in relationships; ethically, it cautions against conduct that breaks exclusive commitment and undermines trust.
Vipula is advising a Pāṇḍava addressee within Anuśāsana-parvan’s moral instruction, characterizing certain women as fickle—once accepted by one man, they may turn to another—thus framing a warning about fidelity and self-restraint.