न चाप्य् अधर्मः कल्याण बहुपत्नीकता नृणाम् ॥
स्त्रीणाम् अधर्मः सुमहान् भर्तुः पूर्वस्य लङ्घने ॥
एतत् सर्वं समीक्ष्य त्वम् आत्मत्यागं च गर्हितम् ॥
आत्मानं तारय मया कुलं चेमौ च दारकौ ॥
na cāpy adharmaḥ kalyāṇa bahupatnīkatā nṛṇām ||
strīṇām adharmaḥ sumahān bhartuḥ pūrvasya laṅghane ||
etat sarvaṃ samīkṣya tvam ātmatyāgaṃ ca garhitam ||
ātmānaṃ tāraya mayā kulaṃ cemau ca dārakau ||
"And there is no unrighteousness, O virtuous one, in a man's having many wives, but for wives there is great unrighteousness in transgressing against a former husband. Having considered all this, and remembering that self-destruction is condemned, save yourself through me, and our lineage, and both these children."
013aad7cdd29 · प्रकाशित 12 जुल॰ 2026, 5:09:57 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here the wife brings all her arguments to a final request — that he accept her sacrifice. Her discernment is telling: her own death in service to her husband is, for her, not a "condemned self-destruction" but the fulfillment of duty; she distinguishes desperate self-annihilation from sacrifice for the sake of saving many. Here it is shown that not every giving of life is equal: death out of faintheartedness is condemned, death in service to dharma is consecrated. Telling, too, is that her final word is "save yourself, and our lineage, and the children": her whole speech is directed toward the salvation of others, not toward her own glory. Thus the text shows devotion carried to its limit: the wife begs, as for a grace, the right to give her life for those she loves.