Mahabharata · Chapter 13.74
ime vai mānavā loke strīṣu sajjantyabhīkṣṇaśaḥ /
mohena paramāviṣṭā devadṛṣṭena karmaṇā //
striyaśca puruṣeṣveva pratyakṣaṃ lokasākṣikam /
atra me saṃśayastīvro hṛdi samparivartate //
kathamāsāṃ narāḥ saṅgaṃ kurvate kurunandanaḥ /
striyo vāteṣu rajyante virajyante ca tāḥ punaḥ //
iti tāḥ puruṣavyāghra kathaṃ śakyāstu rakṣitum /
pramadāḥ puruṣeṇeha tanme vyākhyātumarhasi //
bhīṣma uvāca /
etvā hi svīyamāyābhirvañcayantīha mānavān /
na cāsāṃ mucyate kaścitpuruṣo hastamāgataḥ //
gāvo navatṛṇānīva gṛhṇantyetā navannavam //
śambarasya ca yā māyā māyā yā namucerapi /
baleḥ kumbhīnaseścaiva sarvāstāṃ yoṣito viduḥ //
hasantaṃ prahasantyetā rudrantaṃ prarudanti ca /
apriyaṃ priyavākyaiśca gṛhṇate kālayogataḥ //
yadi jihvāsahasraṃ syājjīvecca śaradāṃ śatam / ananyakarmā strīdoṣānanuktvā nidhanaṃ vrajet //
uśanā veda yacchāstraṃ yacca veda bṛhaspatiḥ /
strī buddhyā na viśiṣyeta tāstu rakṣyāḥ kathaṃ naraiḥ //
anṛtaṃ satyamityāhuḥ satyaṃ cāpi tathā'nṛtam / iti yāstāḥ kathaṃ vīra saṃrakṣyāḥ puruṣairiha /
doṣāspade'śucau dehe hyāsāṃ saktāstvaho narāḥ //
strīṇāṃ buddhyarthaniṣkarṣādarthaśāstrāṇi śatruhan /
bṛhaspatiprabhṛtibhirmanye sadbhiḥ kṛtāni vai //
sampūjyamānāḥ puruṣairvikurvanti mano nṛṣu /
apāstāśca tathā rājanvikurvanti manaḥ striyaḥ //
imāḥ prajā mahāpāho dhārmikya iti naḥ śrutam //
satkṛtāsatkṛtāścāpi vikurvanti manaḥ sadā /
kastāḥ śakto rakṣituṃ syāditi me saṃśayo mahān //
tathā brūhi mahābhāga kurūṇāṃ vaṃśavardhana / yadi śakyā kuruśreṣṭha rakṣā tāsāṃ kadācana /
kartuṃ vā kṛtapūrvaṃ vā tanme vyākhyātumarhasi //
Original text: Mahābhārata (southern recension) · Edition: Śrīman Mahābhāratam, ed. T. R. Krishnacharya and T. R. Vyasacharya, Nirnaya Sagar Press, Bombay 1906–1910; e-text by SARIT (Shrinivasa Varakhedi and others) · SARIT: Search and Retrieval of Indic Texts · SARIT (e-text) via Internet Archive · CC BY-SA 3.0