Devanagari
अस्पष्टवर्त्मनां पुंसामलोकपथमीयुषाम् ।
आस्थिता: पदवीं सुभ्रु प्राय: सीदन्ति योषित: ॥ १३ ॥
Verse text
aspaṣṭa-vartmanām puṁsām
aloka-patham īyuṣām
āsthitāḥ padavīṁ su-bhru
prāyaḥ sīdanti yoṣitaḥ
Synonyms
aspaṣṭa
—
uncertain
;
vartmanām
—
whose behavior
;
puṁsām
—
of men
;
aloka
—
not acceptable to ordinary society
;
patham
—
way
;
īyuṣāṁ
—
who take to
;
āsthitāḥ
—
following
;
padavīm
—
the path
;
su
—
bhru — O you whose eyebrows are beautiful
;
prāyaḥ
—
usually
;
sīdanti
—
suffer
;
yoṣitaḥ
—
women .
Translation
O fine-browed lady, women are usually destined to suffer when they stay with men whose behavior is uncertain and who pursue a path not approved by society.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O fine-browed lady, women are usually destined to suffer when they stay with men whose behavior is uncertain and who pursue a path not approved by society.
KB 10.60.13
“Besides that, I have no fixed aim in life. People cannot understand Me very well. What is the ultimate goal of My life? They know very well that I was a cowherd boy in Vṛndāvana. People expected that I would follow in the footsteps of My foster father, Nanda Mahārāja, and be faithful to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and all Her friends in the village of Vṛndāvana. But all of a sudden I left them. I wanted to become a famous prince. Still I could not have any kingdom, nor could I rule as a prince. People are bewildered about My ultimate goal of life; they do not know whether I am a cowherd boy or a prince, whether I am the son of Nanda Mahārāja or the son of Vasudeva. Because I have no fixed aim in life, people may call Me a vagabond. Therefore, I am surprised that you could select such a vagabond husband.
“Besides this, I am not very much polished, even in social etiquette. A person should be satisfied with one wife, but you see that I have married many times, and I have more than sixteen thousand wives. I cannot please all of them as a polished husband. My behavior with them is not very nice, and I know that you are very conscious of it. I sometimes create a situation with My wives which is not very happy. Because I was trained in a village in My childhood, I am not well acquainted with the etiquette of urban life. I do not know the way to please a wife with nice words and behavior. And from practical experience it is found that any woman who follows My way or becomes attracted to Me is ultimately left to cry for the rest of her life. In Vṛndāvana, many gopīs were attracted to Me, and now I have left them, and they are living but are simply crying for Me in separation. I have heard from Akrūra and Uddhava that since I left Vṛndāvana all My cowherd boyfriends, the gopīs and Rādhārāṇī, and My foster father, Nanda Mahārāja, are simply crying constantly for Me. I have left Vṛndāvana for good and am now engaged with the queens in Dvārakā, but I am not well behaved with any of you. So you can very easily understand that I have no steadiness of character; I am not a very reliable husband. The net result of being attracted to Me is to acquire a life of bereavement only.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"Pious women who follow the path of men like us, whose course of action is unclear, having questionable religious principles, who sometimes take others wives and at other times follow the rules of Vedic conduct, and who do not follow even common social behavior (since I offended your brother even in your presence), must almost always (prayah) suffer. If some do not suffer, it is to their credit."
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
After not receiving a reply he seems to scold her. It is not proper any woman to serve a man like me. Do I accept scripture or not, for sometimes I am seen with others’ wives and sometimes follow Vedic dharma? Do I follow the path of pravṛṭi or nivrti, since sometimes I follow the path of sacrifice and sometimes criticize it to Mucukunda and others? My path is unclear. My path is not easy to understand. Normal people perform actions for the future, and actions for the present, thinking of wives and children. That is not seen in me (aloka-patham). Women will probably or generally (prayaḥ) be disappointed in me since I insulted brothers in front of women, and left just born children unprotected (Pradyumna). What women would not become disappointed? That is their nature. I should not be served by such women.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
I am not suitable for marriage because I am so different from others. Women suffer at all times, in all ways, greatly (prāyaḥ) from such men. Or those who take shelter of unsteady men only slightly without marrying them do not suffer. By taking shelter of me with attachment you will suffer.