Verse 5.156

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

आसीतामरणात् क्षान्ता नियता ब्रह्मचारिणी ।
यो धर्म एकपत्नीनां काङ्क्षन्ती तमनुत्तमम् ॥ १५६ ॥

āsītāmaraṇāt kṣāntā niyatā brahmacāriṇī |
yo dharma ekapatnīnāṃ kāṅkṣantī tamanuttamam || 156 ||

Till her death, she should remain patient, self-controlled and chaste,—seeking that most excellent merit that accrues to women having a single husband. (156).

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

What has gone before is further explained.

‘Till her death she should remain chaste’;—i.e., even under the said distressing conditions she shall not seek to maintain herself by misbehaviour.

‘Patient’—disregarding the troubles caused by her circumstances, she shall not allow her chastity to be disfigured by hunger; she shall not allow her mind to be disturbed by the waves of passion.

The compound ‘ekapatni (ekapatnī?)’ may be expounded either as ‘those who have a single husband,’ or ‘those who are wives of single men’; such women, as Sāvitrī and the rest;—the ‘merits’ accruing to such women; which brings such results as the capacity to confer boons and pronounce curses;—‘seeking’ such merit, the woman should not renounce chastity.

Under the said circumstances, if, by living upon fruits and roots, she happen to die,—there would be nothing wrong in this.—(156).

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

(Verse 158 of others.)

This verse is quoted in Mitākṣarā, (on, 2.127) as forbidding the widow having recourse to another man for the sake of off-spring.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 5.154-163)

See Comparative notes for Verse 5.154.