Shloka 48

Devaśarmā–Vipula Dialogue on Ahorātra–Ṛtu as Moral Witnesses (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय ४३)

Devanagari script

नचेयं रक्षितुं शक्या यथान्या प्रमदा नृभि:

Transliteration

na ceyaṁ rakṣituṁ śakyā yathānyā pramadā nṛbhiḥ

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“此女并非能如他女一般，由男子以守卫之法加以看护。”

Word by Word

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca

• iyam: this (woman)
• iyam: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: idam
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• rakṣitum: to protect/guard
• Type: Verb
• Root: rakṣ (रक्ष्)
• Form: Infinitive (tumun)

• śakyā: possible/able (to be done)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śakya
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• yathā: as/like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā

• anyā: another/other
• anyā: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

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

• nṛbhiḥ: by men
• nṛbhiḥ: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛ
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• woman (pramadā)
• men (nṛ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That ‘protection’ is not merely physical guarding or control by men; ethical safety depends on dharma—inner discipline, right relationships, and trust—rather than coercive surveillance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, in his instruction on dharma in the Anuśāsana Parva, makes a pointed observation about the limits of external guarding: this particular woman, in the situation under discussion, cannot be kept safe or restrained in the same way as other women might be.