* The types of chaste ladies, their duties and the fruits they get thereby.
The types of chaste ladies, their duties and the fruits they get thereby.
Shri Narayan Muni said:-
As mentioned before, there are three categories of the chaste ladies. These are - good, better and best (lower, middle and higher). 1.
The lower type of a chaste lady performs all the duties before said and then enjoys the pleasure of married life and thus wishes to serve her husband. She acts in such a way by her erotic gestures, speech and tricks that her husband is attracted to and desires for her (more and more). Impressed by the looks and merits of a man other than her husband she is not able to control her mind from going to him, but still she is able to hold back herself from him, physically and by speech. 2- 4.
A middle type of a chaste lady always abides by all of the before said duties. She does not care for her physical comfort but always indulges herself in the service of her husband. 5.
She may come in contact of a person other than person, who is better than her husband in respect of wealth, charm, age and behaviour, but still her faith in her husband is not shaken physically, mentally or by speech in any case. 6.
By chance because of any adverse circumstances caused by time or action, her mind may go to another person. 7.
Otherwise a lady, whose mind is very stable, can never think of a man other than her husband, even in dream. 8.
Sometimes she may not wish for sexual enjoyment even from her husband. But if so expressed by her husband she enjoys it wholeheartedly. 9.
Thus, I have told about a middle type of a loyal lady. I shall now tell you about the best, the auspicious one. She entirely follows all the duties mentioned before. In case she comes into the contact of man who is better in wealth, appearance, age and other qualities than her husband, she is never moved physically, mentally or by speech. She will never think of man other than her husband even in mind or even if she meets any adverse situation due to bad luck, place or time. 10-12.
She will never think of any other man even in her mind though her husband might have any disease like high-fever (or contagious disease), etc. or high fever or may have taken any intoxicant. 13.
Sexual pleasure, offered by her husband with love, though she is attached and service-full to him, sometimes may not even wish for it. 14.
If her husband compels for such pleasure she takes it passively, just like a person whose teeth have become acidic due to over eating of an attune fruit chews chick peas. 15.
Being dispassionate she knows her own other one’s body and bodily enjoyment is unreal and the real happiness lies in (worship of) God (only). 16.
If her husband marries other woman for sexual pleasure, she is happy. In addition, if he orders to serve her even then she will do it. 17.
Such a pious, chaste lady is very rare on this earth. Even Gods’ are not able to look at her with bad intention. 18.
If, the chaste lady that I have described as of a low level sticks to her duties (being in service to her husband) for seven births, then only she attains the position of the middle type. 19.
Then (again) after seven births she does attain the position of the best. Now I shall describe to you about the position they attain after the death of their husband. 20.
The best among these ladies, know the day and time of husband’s death, before his actual death. She also knows about the previous seven or even more than those births of her husband and her own previous births. 21.
Then, being Pativrata (chaste) in true sense with added strength she becomes one with her husband in every sense on the very day of his death definitely looses separate identity, the sensation of her own body. 23.
Leaving the body her soul already attains the world of Gods before she enters the funeral pyre. Thereafter, the fire burns only the body. So, at that time experiences no pain of burning and she is not blamed for self suicide also. 24 - 25.
The middle type of a chaste lady knows only about previous birth of herself and her husband on the very day of his death (As she identifies herself with him). Fearless as she is, gains courage, unshaken faces the pain of burning alive on the pyre very bravely like a hero in the battlefield. 26 - 27.
The low type of chaste lady does not know about her own and the previous birth of her own and of her husband. But she enters the pyre only due to fear of social shame. She enters the pyre of her husband out of fear that she may commit some sin due to the overwhelming emotion for sexual pleasure and there by defame the families of her fathers and in- laws. 28 - 29.
She enters the funeral pyre to save herself from observing the strict, difficult (torturous) duties of a widow or because of the absence of a good natured son and others. 30.
That dutiful lady burns herself on the funeral pyre with distress. All these ladies attain the world of Shri Rudra (Shiva). 31.
The best among the chaste ladies enjoy the best type of pleasures there accompanied by their husband, the middle one, of middle type pleasures and lower one of lower type. 32.
Though all these three types of chaste ladies are allowed to enter the funeral pyre of husband, some of them are not permitted to do so. I shall now tell you about this category. 33.
Those ladies who are devoted to God, learned, dispassionate (disinterested in worldly affairs), capable of observing all the rules of a widow and celibate; Aspiring for the freedom from the bondage; mother of hero, lady with a child or a pregnant woman are not allowed to enter the funeral pyre. They should ever serve Lord Hari. 34 - 35.
The duties of a chaste lady are of two types (supposed to be or recommended); the very first is devotion towards husband only and another is that devotion accompanied by the nine fold devotion to the Lord Vasudeva. Among these two; the first one gives the fruit of attainment of Satiloka (world of chaste ladies) and of the other one is the attainment of the highest, Goloka (the abode of the Lord). 36 -37
That chaste lady enjoys the incomparable pleasures, happiness, just like the Goddess Laxmi. Her husband is also present there as a special attendant of the Lord. 38.
O Brahmin! These are the general rules for a chaste lady and also for those who belong to the Brahmin family of dharma and are in the position of Guru. But for them a special rule is, not to eat any food which is not offered to Lord Krishna, except in emergencies like delivery and so forth. 39 - 40.
One more special rule for them is, she should not touch, speak or look at a man other than a relative of her husband. 41.
O Brahmin! Here I have explained the code of conduct for ladies having their husband alive and the fruits they will earn by following that. Furthermore, I shall now explain in full, the code of conduct laid down for widows. 42.
Thus ends the thirty-second chapter entitled, ‘narration of types of Pativratas and the merit accrued to them by observance of code of conduct for them,’ in the fifth Prakaran of Satsangi jivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as Dharmashastra. (the rules of the code of conduct). 32