Adhyāya 152 — Bhīṣma’s Authorization for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Return to the Capital (नगरप्रवेशानुज्ञा)
एष देव मया प्रोक्तः स्त्रीधर्मो वचनात् तव । या त्वेवंभाविनी नारी सा पतिव्रतभागिनी
eṣa deva mayā proktaḥ strīdharmaḥ vacanāt tava | yā tv evaṃbhāvinī nārī sā pativratabhāginī ||
摩醯湿伐罗说道:“噢,主宰啊!奉汝之命,我已宣说女子之法。凡女子能依所述之道塑造其生涯者,便当得分受‘帕提弗拉塔’(pativratā)之果——以神圣誓愿守持对夫君坚贞不移的奉敬。”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
The verse affirms that the previously described strīdharma, taught under divine instruction, yields spiritual merit: a woman who lives in accordance with that code becomes a participant in the fruit of pativratā—devotional fidelity understood as a sacred vow.
Maheśvara concludes or seals his exposition by stating that he has delivered the teaching on women’s dharma at the Lord’s command, and he declares the promised result: the woman who embodies that teaching attains the merit associated with pativratā.