व्युच्चरन्त्याः पतिं नार्या अद्य प्रभृति पातकम् ॥
भ्रूणहत्याकृतं पापं भविष्यत्य् असुखावहम् ॥
भार्यां तथा व्युच्चरतः कौमारीं ब्रह्मचारिणीम् ॥
पतिव्रताम् एतद् एव भविता पातकं भुवि ॥
पत्या नियुक्ता या चैव पत्न्य् अपत्यार्थम् एव च ॥
न करिष्यति तस्याश् च भविष्यत्य् एतद् एव हि ॥
इति तेन पुरा भीरु मर्यादा स्थापिता बलात् ॥
उद्दालकस्य पुत्रेण धर्म्या वै श्वेतकेतुना ॥
vyuccarantyāḥ patiṃ nāryā adya prabhṛti pātakam ||
bhrūṇahatyākṛtaṃ pāpaṃ bhaviṣyaty asukhāvaham ||
bhāryāṃ tathā vyuccarataḥ kaumārīṃ brahmacāriṇīm ||
pativratām etad eva bhavitā pātakaṃ bhuvi ||
patyā niyuktā yā caiva patny apatyārtham eva ca ||
na kariṣyati tasyāś ca bhaviṣyaty etad eva hi ||
iti tena purā bhīru maryādā sthāpitā balāt ||
uddālakasya putreṇa dharmyā vai śvetaketunā ||
«For a wife straying from her husband, henceforth there is a sin equal to the killing of an embryo, bringing misfortune; and for a husband straying from a chaste wife devoted to him, the same sin shall be on earth; and for a wife who, appointed by her husband for the sake of offspring, fails to fulfill this — upon her too shall be the same sin. Thus, O timid one, the righteous limit was firmly established of old by the son of Uddalaka, Shvetaketu».
89f5bdb77fef · publicado 12 jul 2026, 16:41:49 UTC
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Here is revealed the essence of the established limit: the mutuality of fidelity and the gravity of its violation. It is telling that the law binds wife and husband equally: a husband's straying from a faithful wife is as much a sin as a wife's infidelity. Here is shown the just reciprocity of the dharma of marriage, which rejects a double standard: fidelity is enjoined on both. Telling too is the third provision: a wife's refusal to fulfill her husband's wish for offspring (niyoga) is equated with sin — but note that this concerns an ordinance permitted in that age, not compulsion toward lawlessness. Telling is the comparison of this violation with "the killing of an embryo" (bhrunahatya) — the gravest of sins: this underscores the sanctity of marital fidelity. Thus the scripture shows that the fidelity of spouses is not a mere external custom but a sacred duty, whose violation stains the soul with the gravest guilt.