Shloka 6
लुब्धक-कपोत-कपोती-आख्यानम्
The Hunter and the Pigeon Couple: Expiation and Refuge-Ethics
न गृहं गृहमित्याहुर्गृहिणी गृहमुच्यते । गृहं तु गृुहिणीहीनमरण्यसदृशं मतम्,*वास्तवमें घरको घर नहीं कहते, घरवालीका ही नाम घर है। घरवालीके बिना जो घर होता है, उसे जंगलके समान ही माना गया है
na gṛhaṃ gṛham ity āhur gṛhiṇī gṛham ucyate | gṛhaṃ tu gṛhiṇī-hīnam araṇya-sadṛśaṃ matam ||
毗湿摩说道：“人们并不把一座空有形体的屋舍称作‘家’。真正被称为‘家’的，是掌持家室的女主人。若一所房屋失却主妇，便被视作如同荒野。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that ‘home’ is not merely a physical structure; it becomes a true household through the presence and role of the gṛhiṇī, who sustains domestic order, hospitality, and daily dharma. Without her, the house is ethically and socially ‘empty,’ likened to a forest.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he emphasizes the value of the household stage of life and the central place of the gṛhiṇī in maintaining a functioning, dharmic home.