Shloka 43

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

Devanagari script

न चन्द्रसूर्यों न तरुं पुंनाम्ना या निरीक्षते । भर्त॒वर्ज वरारोहा सा भवेद्‌ धर्मचारिणी

Transliteration

na candrasūryau na taruṁ puṁnāmnā yā nirīkṣate | bhartṛvarja varārohā sā bhaved dharmacāriṇī ||

Translation

พระศรีมหेशวรตรัสว่า—“สตรีผู้สูงศักดิ์ซึ่งนอกจากต่อหน้าสามีแล้ว มิได้เหลียวมองแม้พระจันทร์ พระอาทิตย์ หรือแม้ต้นไม้ที่มีนามเป็นบุรุษ ย่อมชื่อว่าเป็นผู้ประพฤติธรรม”

Word by Word

नnot

चन्द्रसूर्यौthe moon and the sun

नnot

तरुम्a tree

पुंनाम्नाby/with a male name (i.e., by a man's name)

याwho (she who)

निरीक्षतेlooks at, gazes upon

भर्तृवर्जम्excluding (her) husband; other than her husband

वरारोहाa noble/beautiful woman (lit. one who ascends the best)

साshe

भवेत्would be, should be

धर्मचारिणीa woman who practices righteousness; faithful/virtuous woman

Speaker

श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Maheśvara

candra (moon)

sūrya (sun)

taru (tree)

bhartṛ (husband)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents an ideal of strict restraint and exclusive marital orientation: a woman is called dharma-practicing when her attention and regard are regulated so that her husband alone is the permitted focus, reflecting a traditional model of strīdharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śrī Maheśvara is describing a normative standard of conduct for a ‘noble lady’ (varārohā), defining dharmic behavior in terms of guarded gaze and exclusivity toward the husband.