Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 16
Umā’s Inquiry and the Manifestation of the Third Eye (उमा–प्रश्नः तृतीयनेत्रोत्पत्तिः)
(अग्निसंरक्षणपरा गृहशुद्धि च कारये । कुमारान् पालये नित्यं कुमारी परिशिक्षये ।।
agnisaṁrakṣaṇaparā gṛhaśuddhiṁ ca kāraye | kumārān pālaye nityaṁ kumārī pariśikṣaye || ātmapriyāṇi hitvāpi garbhasaṁrakṣaṇe ratā | bālānāṁ varjaye nityaṁ śāpaṁ kopaṁ pratāpanam || avikṣiptāni dhānyāni nānnavikṣepaṇaṁ gṛhe | ratnavat spṛhaye gehe gāvaḥ sayavasodakāḥ || samudgamya ca śuddhāhaṁ bhikṣāṁ dadyāṁ dvijātiṣu || pravāsaṁ yadi me yāti bhartā kāryeṇa kenacit | maṅgalair bahubhir yuktā bhavāmi niyatā tadā ||
毗湿摩说：“我专心守护家中的圣火，并以常常洒扫涂抹，使宅第清净。每日抚育孩童，又教导少女明了妇道与仪则。纵使舍弃自己所爱之食，我亦恒常致力于护持胎孕。我早已永断对孩子的咒骂、对他们发怒，或以任何方式加以折磨。在我家中，谷粒从不散落，食物亦不任意抛撒。我照料家中的牛群——供以草料与清水——珍护其安如护宝玉。并且在身心洁净之时，我会前行施舍于二次出生者。若我丈夫因事远行，我便以戒律自持，行诸多吉祥之仪，以祈其安泰。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents an ideal of household ethics: protect the sacred fire and maintain cleanliness, nurture children with patience (without curses or harshness), safeguard pregnancy through self-denial, avoid wasting food, care for cows as precious dependents, and give alms to the twice-born while observing purity and disciplined auspicious conduct—especially during the husband’s absence.
In Bhishma’s discourse on dharma, a woman’s exemplary domestic conduct is described in the first person: she recounts her daily responsibilities—ritual care, household purification, child-rearing, instruction of girls, restraint in speech and anger, careful management of food, attentive care of cows, and charitable giving—then adds that when her husband travels for work she remains self-controlled and engaged in auspicious observances.