Shloka 24
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
स्त्रीणां तु पतिदायाद्यमुपभोगफल स्मृतम् | नापहारं स्त्रिय: कुर्यु: पतिवित्तात् कथंचन
strīṇāṃ tu patidāyādyam upabhogaphalaṃ smṛtam | nāpahāraṃ striyaḥ kuryuḥ pativittāt kathaṃcana ||
भीष्म उवाच—स्त्रीणां तु पतिवित्ताद् यद् दायाद्यं लभ्यते तस्य फलम् उपभोग एव स्मृतः। तस्मात् पतिवित्तात् स्त्रियः कदाचन नापहर्तव्याः। यच्च स्त्रीधनं दत्तं तत् पुत्रादिभिर्न कदाचन हर्तव्यम्।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse affirms that a woman’s entitlement connected with her husband’s wealth is meant for her use and enjoyment, and it should not be confiscated; her allotted property (including what is given to her as her own) is not to be taken by heirs such as sons.
In the Anushasana Parva’s dharma-instruction setting, Bhishma is laying down normative guidance on household ethics and inheritance—specifically, protecting a woman’s rightful share and preventing deprivation of her husband-derived property and her own allotted wealth.