Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
भरद्वाज उवाच नैतस्येह यथास्माकं ब्रह्मुबन्धोरचेतस: । शोको भार्यापवादेन तेन पीवाउछुना सह
bharadvāja uvāca naitasy eha yathāsmākaṁ brahmabandhor acetasaḥ | śoko bhāryāpavādena tena pīvaucchunā saha
Sabi ni Bharadvāja: “Dito, para sa atin, walang dalamhati para sa hangal na ‘Brahmin sa kapanganakan’ (na di karapat-dapat sa tunay na pagka-Brahmin). Ang pighati’y sumibol dahil sa paninirang-puri na ibinato sa kanyang asawa—kasabay ng kaawa-awang daing na iyon.”
भरद्वाज उवाच
The verse distinguishes between grief for a person’s fate and grief caused by moral injury—here, the real pain is the unjust reproach/slander directed at a wife. It underscores the ethical weight of protecting another’s honor and the harm caused by apavāda (defamation).
Bharadvāja comments on a situation involving an unworthy brahmin (brahmabandhu). He says that their sorrow is not for the man himself, but for the scandal and lament arising from accusations against the man’s wife.