Shloka 43
Adhyāya 152 — Bhīṣma’s Authorization for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Return to the Capital (नगरप्रवेशानुज्ञा)
न चन्द्रसूर्यों न तरुं पुंनाम्ना या निरीक्षते । भर्त॒वर्ज वरारोहा सा भवेद् धर्मचारिणी
na candrasūryau na taruṁ puṁnāmnā yā nirīkṣate | bhartṛvarja varārohā sā bhaved dharmacāriṇī ||
Śrī Maheśvara phán: “Người phụ nữ cao quý ấy, ngoài khi ở trước mặt chồng, thì không nhìn lên trăng, mặt trời, hay thậm chí một cái cây mang tên đàn ông; nàng ấy nên được xem là người thực hành dharma.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents an ideal of strict restraint and exclusive marital orientation: a woman is called dharma-practicing when her attention and regard are regulated so that her husband alone is the permitted focus, reflecting a traditional model of strīdharma.
Śrī Maheśvara is describing a normative standard of conduct for a ‘noble lady’ (varārohā), defining dharmic behavior in terms of guarded gaze and exclusivity toward the husband.