Devanagari
स्त्रीणां च पतिदेवानां तच्छुश्रूषानुकूलता ।
तद्बन्धुष्वनुवृत्तिश्च नित्यं तद्व्रतधारणम् ॥ २५ ॥
Verse text
strīṇāṁ ca pati-devānāṁ
tac-chuśrūṣānukūlatā
tad-bandhuṣv anuvṛttiś ca
nityaṁ tad-vrata-dhāraṇam
Synonyms
strīṇām
—
of women
;
ca
—
also
;
pati
—
devānām — who have accepted their husbands as worshipable
;
tat
—
śuśrūṣā — readiness to render service to her husband
;
anukūlatā
—
being favorably disposed towards her husband
;
tat
—
bandhuṣu — unto the friends and relatives of the husband
;
anuvṛttiḥ
—
being similarly disposed (to treat them well for the satisfaction of the husband)
;
ca
—
and
;
nityam
—
regularly
;
tat
—
vrata — dhāraṇam — accepting the vows of the husband or acting exactly as the husband acts .
Translation
To render service to the husband, to be always favorably disposed toward the husband, to be equally well disposed toward the husband’s relatives and friends, and to follow the vows of the husband — these are the four principles to be followed by women described as chaste.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
To render service to the husband, to be always favorably disposed toward the husband, to be equally well disposed toward the husband's relatives and friends, and to follow the vows of the husband—these are the four principles to be followed by women who worship the husband.
The characteristics of chaste women are described in five verses. The husband should be worshipped (pati-devānām).
Purport
It is very important for peaceful householder life that a woman follow the vow of her husband. Any disagreement with the husband’s vow will disrupt family life. In this regard, Cāṇakya Paṇḍita gives a very valuable instruction:
dampatyoḥ kalaho nāsti tatra śrīḥ svayam āgatāḥ.
When there are no fights between husband and wife, the goddess of fortune automatically comes to the home. A woman’s education should be conducted along the lines indicated in this verse. The basic principle for a chaste woman is to be always favorably disposed toward her husband. In
Bhagavad-gītā
(1.40)
it is said,
strīṣu duṣṭāsu vārṣṇeya jāyate varṇa-saṅkaraḥ:
if the women are polluted, there will be
varṇa-saṅkara
population. In modern terms, the
varṇa-saṅkara
are the hippies, who do not follow any regulative injunctions. Another explanation is that when the population is
varṇa-saṅkara,
no one can know who is on what platform. The
varṇāśrama
system scientifically divides society into four
varṇas
and four
āśramas,
but in
varṇa-saṅkara
society there are no such distinctions, and no one can know who is who. In such a society, no one can distinguish between a
brāhmaṇa,
a
kṣatriya,
a
vaiśya
and a
śūdra.
For peace and happiness in the material world, the
varṇāśrama
institution must be introduced. The symptoms of one’s activities must be defined, and one must be educated accordingly. Then spiritual advancement will automatically be possible.