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In Adi Parva of the Mahabharata, Shakuntala lectures Dushyanta about the status of a wife, Ardha bharya manushyasya bharya srestatamah sakhaa Bhaaryaa moolam trivargasya bharya mitramarishyatam (A wife is half the man. A wife is the best of friends. A wife is the source of three objectives—dharma, artha, kama. A wife is a friend till the very end) —The Mahabharata Volume 1 by Dr Bibek Debroy
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