Shloka 52

Adhyāya 152 — Bhīṣma’s Authorization for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Return to the Capital (नगरप्रवेशानुज्ञा)

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणान्‌ दुर्बलानाथान्‌ दीनान्धकृपणांस्तथा । बिभर्त्यन्नेन या नारी सा पतिव्रतभागिनी

Transliteration

brāhmaṇān durbalānāthān dīnāndhakṛpaṇāṁs tathā | bibharty annena yā nārī sā pativratabhāginī ||

Translation

摩醯首罗说道：凡以饮食供养婆罗门、扶持羸弱者、救济无依者、周恤贫困者、照拂盲者与穷乏者的女子——她确是真正分得“贞顺之法（pativratā-dharma）”功德之人。她的贞信不只显于闺门之内的操守，更显于家业中慈悲的责任：当她以食物滋养脆弱之众，这便成为合乎法义的善行，结出贤妻之德的果报。

Word by Word

• ब्राह्मणान्: Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• दुर्बल: weak (persons)
• दुर्बल: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्बल
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• अनाथान्: orphans / the helpless
• अनाथान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनाथ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• दीनान्: poor, distressed
• दीनान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दीन
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• अन्धान्: the blind
• अन्धान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्ध
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• कृपणान्: miserly / destitute persons
• कृपणान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृपण
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• तथा: and also; likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• बिभर्ति: supports, maintains
• Type: Verb
• Root: भृ
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अन्नेन: by food; with food
• अन्नेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्न
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• या: who (she who)
• या: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• नारी: woman
• नारी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• सा: she (that woman)
• सा: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• पतिव्रत: of wifely fidelity (pativrata-dharma)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पतिव्रत
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• भागिनी: a sharer/partaker (possessing the fruit)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भागिनी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrīmaheśvara (Mahādeva/Śiva)
• brāhmaṇas
• the weak (durbala)
• the helpless (anātha)
• the poor (dīna)
• the blind (andha)
• the destitute (kṛpaṇa)
• food (anna)
• woman (nārī)
• pativratā-dharma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Pativratā-dharma is expressed through compassionate household action: feeding and sustaining Brahmanas and vulnerable people is counted as a direct share in the merit of wifely virtue.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śrīmaheśvara is instructing about the marks and fruits of an ideal wife’s dharma, highlighting that providing food to the needy is a concrete, meritorious practice aligned with pativratā conduct.