Shloka 60

Chapter 2: Sudarśana Upākhyāna — Atithi-Dharma and the Conquest of Mṛtyu

Gṛhastha-Vrata

Devanagari script

तस्मै प्रतिवच: सा तु भरत्रें न प्रददौ तदा । कराभ्यां तेन विप्रेण स्पृष्टा भर्तुव्॒ता सती

Transliteration

tasmai prativacaḥ sā tu bhartre na pradadau tadā | karābhyāṃ tena vipreṇa spṛṣṭā bhartṛvratā satī ||

Translation

Nhưng lúc ấy nàng không đáp lời chồng. Bởi nàng—người vợ trinh chính, một lòng thờ chồng—đã bị vị Bà-la-môn đến làm khách chạm vào bằng cả hai tay. Tự cho mình vì thế mà nhiễm uế, nàng hổ thẹn ngay cả trước đức lang quân, nên lặng im, không sao thốt nên lời.

Word by Word

• तस्मै: to him
• तस्मै: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Dative, Singular

• प्रतिवचः: a reply/answer
• प्रतिवचः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रतिवचस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• सा: she
• सा: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• भर्त्रे: to (her) husband
• भर्त्रे: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भर्तृ
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• प्रददौ: gave/uttered (as a reply)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + दा
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• तदा: then/at that time
• तदा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

• कराभ्याम्: with (his) two hands
• कराभ्याम्: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Dual

• तेन: by him/with him
• तेन: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• विप्रेण: by the brahmin
• विप्रेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• स्पृष्टा: touched
• Type: Participle
• Root: स्पृश्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular, Past passive participle (kta)

• भर्तुव्रता: devoted to her husband (husband-vowed)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भर्तृ + व्रत
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• सती: a virtuous woman
• Type: Noun/Adjective
• Root: सत्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• bhartṛ (husband)
• vipra (brahmin guest)
• satī/bhartṛvratā (the chaste wife)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights an ethical ideal of pativratā-dharma as understood in the epic: a wife’s intense commitment to marital fidelity and personal purity, expressed here through silence born of shame after an unwanted touch, and the inner conflict between social-religious notions of purity and the realities of circumstance.

What is happening in the narrative?

A virtuous wife, having been physically touched by a brahmin who arrived as a guest, feels herself compromised; when her husband expects a response, she gives none, remaining silent due to embarrassment and a sense of defilement.