Shloka 45
अध्याय ७४: अक्रोध–क्षमा–निवासनीति
Chapter 74: Non-anger, Forbearance, and the Ethics of Residence
संसरन्तमपि प्रेतं विषमेष्वेकपातिनम् । भार्यवान्वेति भर्तारें सततं या पतिव्रता,“पति संसारमें हो या मर गया हो अथवा अकेले ही नरकमें पड़ा हो; पतिव्रता स्त्री ही सदा उसका अनुगमन करती है
saṃsarantam api pretaṃ viṣameṣv ekapātinam | bhāryavān veti bhartāraṃ satataṃ yā pativratā ||
Duṣyanta nói: “Dù chồng nàng còn trôi lăn trong vòng luân hồi, hay đã chết, hay thậm chí nằm cô độc trong địa ngục ghê rợn, người vợ kiên định với lời thệ trung trinh (patīvratā) vẫn luôn theo sát và hòa cùng bước với đấng phu quân của mình.”
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts the ideal of pativratā-dharma: a wife’s steadfast loyalty and moral alignment with her husband is portrayed as enduring beyond ordinary circumstances—life, death, and even extreme suffering—emphasizing constancy and duty within marriage as an ethical ideal.
Duṣyanta is articulating a normative statement about the devoted wife: regardless of whether the husband is living in the world, has died, or is suffering alone in a dreadful state, the pativratā is described as continually following him—highlighting the cultural-ethical expectation of unwavering marital devotion.