Shloka 12
Vipula’s Guru-Obedience, Divine Flowers, and the Peril of Others’ Oaths (विपुलोपाख्यानम्—पुष्पप्राप्तिः शपथ-प्रसङ्गश्च)
इमा: प्रजा महाबाहो धार्मिक्य इति न: श्रुतम्
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: imāḥ prajā mahābāho dhārmikyā iti naḥ śrutam; tathāpi striyaḥ satkṛtā apy asatkṛtā vā sadāiva puruṣāṇāṃ manasi vikāraṃ janayanti. tāsāṃ rakṣāṃ kaḥ kartum arhati? eṣa me mahān saṃśayaḥ.
اے مہاباہو! ہم نے سنا ہے کہ یہ عورت-رُوپ مخلوق فطرتاً بڑی دھرم پر قائم ہوتی ہے؛ پھر بھی وہ عزت پائے یا بےعزتی—ہمیشہ مردوں کے دلوں میں اضطراب و بگاڑ پیدا کرتی رہتی ہے۔ پھر ان کی حقیقی حفاظت کون کر سکتا ہے؟ یہی میرے دل کا بڑا شک ہے۔
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical dilemma: even when women are regarded as dharmic, social honor alone does not prevent moral agitation in men; therefore the deeper issue is self-restraint and responsible conduct, alongside just social protection.
Yudhiṣṭhira, in a didactic dialogue of the Anuśāsana Parva, raises a doubt to his interlocutor (addressed as “mahābāho”): how to reconcile the traditional praise of women’s dharma (with Sāvitrī as an exemplar) with the observed fact that men’s minds are easily disturbed, and who can truly ensure women’s protection.