Hear now the gentle but firm words spoken in the assembly, as the wise and devoted woman addresses King Duṣyanta. She begins by extolling the eternal power of righteousness, saying, “Righteousness alone is the true cause of welfare for all the virtuous. It is always free from falsehood and never leads to sorrow.” She warns against the illusion of secrecy in wrongdoing: “One may think, ‘Having done evil, no one knows me,’ but the gods know, as does the innermost soul. The sun, the moon, the wind, and fire; the sky, the earth, the waters, the heart, and Yama—all these, along with day and night, both twilights, and Dharma itself, are aware of a man’s conduct.” She continues, “Yama, the son of Vivasvat, metes out punishment for evil deeds. The witness to all actions, the knower who dwells in the heart, is pleased with the righteous. But if this inner witness is displeased with a wicked man, Yama reproaches that person for his misdeeds.” She points out the folly of ignoring one’s own conscience: “He who disregards his own self and acts otherwise—such a man, for whom even his own self is not a cause, does not attain the blessings of the gods.” Turning to her own situation, she says, “Do not think of me as easily obtained, nor look down upon your devoted wife. Though worthy of worship, you do not honor me, your wife, who stands before you. Why do you treat me as an ordinary woman in this assembly? Surely, I am not speaking these words in vain—why do you not listen to me?” With conviction, she warns, “If you do not fulfill the words I, who am pleading with you, speak, O Duṣyanta, then today your head will split into a hundred pieces.” She reminds him of the wisdom of the ancients: “When a husband unites with his wife and a child is born from her, that is truly her offspring—the ancient sages have declared this. When a son is born to a man who follows the proper path, that son, by his lineage, delivers his forefathers and ancestors. A son saves his father from the hell called Put, and therefore he is called ‘putra’—this was declared long ago by the Self-born. By a son, men conquer the worlds; by a grandson, they attain endlessness; and by the son of a grandson, great-grandfathers rejoice.” She describes the true nature of a wife: “She is a wife who is skilled in the household, who bears children, whose life is devoted to her husband, and who is faithful. A wife is half of a man; a wife is his best friend; a wife is the root of the three aims of life; he who has a wife is truly connected. Householders with wives perform their duties; those with wives are joyful; those with wives are endowed with prosperity. In solitude, wives are pleasant companions; in matters of duty, they are like fathers; in times of distress, they are like mothers. Who, on a journey, finds rest even in the wilderness? He who has a wife is to be trusted; therefore, a wife is the highest refuge. When a man is beset by difficulties and misfortune, it is only the devoted wife who always follows her husband. The wife, having departed first, waits for her husband after death; but if the husband dies first, she follows him thereafter. For this reason, O King, marriage is approved: whatever the husband attains, the wife shares, both in this world and the next.” She emphasizes the bond between parents and children: “For the nourishment of the body, provisions are needed even in heaven; the son, born from oneself, is called ‘self’ by the wise. Therefore, a husband should regard his wife as a mother, and the mother of his son; for the inner self of all is always called the son. The movements, form, actions, tendencies, and marks seen in the fathers are also found in the sons. Their character, virtues, and conduct—by contact, whether auspicious or inauspicious—are reflected in the son born of the wife, just as one’s own face is seen in a mirror.” She speaks of the joy of fatherhood: “The father rejoices on seeing his son, as a virtuous man rejoices on attaining heaven. But those who bear the form of a devoted wife, yet accept another’s seed—destroying the lineage of their husbands, they go to terrible hell. Sons born from another in one’s own wife, as desired—though considered ‘my sons,’ such sons are in fact enemies; they hate, oppose, and do not obey their supposed father. The father also hates them, but not so with his own seed, O King; a son does not hate his father or his true begetter. Nor does the begetter hate his son; therefore, the son is truly one’s own self.” She observes the enduring love between husband and wife, “Even when tormented by mental sorrows and severe diseases, a person finds delight in his own wife, just as those scorched by heat delight in water. Men, emaciated by exile, miserable, and clad in dirty garments—even they are pleased with their own wives, and the poor rejoice on gaining wealth. Even if spoken to harshly by their wives, the wise do not utter harsh words in return. Considering that pleasure, affection, and righteousness depend on her, and knowing from the scriptures that she is half of oneself, she protects wealth and offspring.” She praises the sustaining role of virtuous women: “The body, the journey through life, righteousness, heaven, the sages, and ancestors—all these, and the field of one’s own birth, are sustained by virtuous women, eternal and pure. What power have even the sages to create offspring without women? What power have even the gods to bring about their own birth? Even for the learned, creation is established among women; some sages have been born from sages, and even from women of low caste.” She illustrates the natural affection between father and son: “Just as a son, covered in the dust of the earth, runs to embrace his father’s limbs, what could be dearer than that? So you, having obtained a son, intelligent and full of longing, who looks at you with sidelong glances—why do you disregard him? Ants carry their own eggs and do not abandon them; why then would you not regard a son such as this in every way? How could you not support your own son born from me? The cuckoo raises its own eggs, and so do the crows.” With these words, she appeals to King Duṣyanta’s heart, reminding him of the sacred bonds of righteousness, marriage, and lineage, urging him to acknowledge both her and their son, in accordance with the eternal law.