Shloka 21
Honoring the Mother (Mātṛpūjanam): Consent, Equity, and Dana to Restore Household Dharma
वरं हि छेदनं मूर्ध्नस्तत्क्षणात्तु वरासिना । का दृष्ट्या दयितं कांतं निरीक्षेदन्ययाहृतम् ॥ २१ ॥
varaṃ hi chedanaṃ mūrdhnastatkṣaṇāttu varāsinā | kā dṛṣṭyā dayitaṃ kāṃtaṃ nirīkṣedanyayāhṛtam || 21 ||
ยอมให้ศีรษะถูกตัดในบัดดลด้วยดาบอันประเสริฐยังดีกว่า; แต่สตรีใดเล่าจะทนมองด้วยตาตนเอง เมื่อสามีอันเป็นที่รักถูกผู้อื่นฉกชิงไป?
Unspecified (narrative voice within Narada Purana; likely a woman expressing distress in a moral/narrative episode)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
It dramatizes the intensity of human attachment and grief, using a stark comparison to show how unbearable adharma (a beloved being taken unjustly) appears—prompting the listener to reflect on restraint, righteousness, and the limits of worldly dependence.
By revealing how overwhelming worldly clinging can be, the verse indirectly points to the need for higher refuge; in the Purāṇic frame, channeling love toward the Divine (especially Viṣṇu) steadies the mind beyond the shocks of loss and injustice.
Vyākaraṇa-style clarity of compounds and participles is notable (e.g., anyayāhṛtam = anyayā + āhṛtam, “taken by another”), aiding precise interpretation—though no ritual or jyotiṣa instruction is directly taught in this line.