Shloka 21
Droṇotpattiḥ and Dhanurveda-Prāpti
Origin of Droṇa and Acquisition of Martial Science
भद्रोवाच नारी परमधर्मज्ञ सर्वा भर्तृविनाकृता । पतिं विना जीवति या न सा जीवति दुःखिता
bhadro'vāca nārī paramadharmajña sarvā bhartṛvinākṛtā | patiṁ vinā jīvati yā na sā jīvati duḥkhitā ||
بھدرا بولی: “اے اعلیٰ دھرم کے جاننے والے راجن! شوہر سے محروم عورت سراسر بے سہارا ہو جاتی ہے۔ جو اپنے پتی کے بغیر جیتی ہے، وہ غم میں ڈوب کر حقیقت میں جیتی نہیں؛ وہ تو گویا مردہ کے برابر ہے۔”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse voices a traditional dharma-based view that a woman’s life is socially and emotionally bound to her husband; without him, her existence is portrayed as overwhelmed by grief and lacking fullness. It reflects the epic’s exploration of duty, dependence, and the human cost of loss.
Bhadra addresses a king praised as a knower of dharma and makes a pointed statement about the condition of a woman bereft of her husband, emphasizing the depth of sorrow and the perceived incompleteness of life after widowhood.