Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 34

Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)

Devanagari script

अन्न पानं च माल्यं च वासांस्याभरणानि च । ब्राह्मण्यैतानि देयानि भर्तु: सा हि गरीयसी

Transliteration

anna-pānaṃ ca mālyaṃ ca vāsāṃsy ābharaṇāni ca | brāhmaṇyaitāni deyāni bhartuḥ sā hi garīyasī ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“饮食、花鬘、衣服与饰物——这些都应由婆罗门之妻奉献给丈夫；因为在此职责上，她居于更高之位，最堪受敬。”

Word by Word

• अन्नम्: food
• अन्नम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्न
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• पानम्: drink
• पानम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पान
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• माल्यम्: garland
• माल्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: माल्य
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• वासांसि: garments, clothes
• वासांसि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वासस्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• आभरणानि: ornaments, jewelry
• आभरणानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आभरण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• ब्राह्मण्यै: to the Brahmin woman
• ब्राह्मण्यै: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मणी
• Form: Feminine, Dative, Singular

• एतानि: these
• एतानि: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• देयानि: to be given (should be given)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• भर्तुः: of the husband
• Type: Noun
• Root: भर्तृ
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

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

• हि: indeed, for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• गरीयसी: more weighty, more venerable/superior
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गरियस्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• husband (bhartṛ)
• brāhmaṇī (Brahmin wife)
• food
• drink
• garland
• garments
• ornaments

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches a norm of household dharma: the Brahmin wife is enjoined to offer and manage key items of hospitality and honor—food, drink, garlands, clothing, and ornaments—for her husband, emphasizing her dignified precedence in this domestic-ethical role.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is instructing on conduct and duties (dharma) in the Anuśāsana Parva. Here he specifies what a brāhmaṇī should offer to her husband, presenting it as an authoritative guideline within the broader discourse on righteous living.