* The duties of women especially of a chaste women.
The duties of women especially of a chaste women.
Shri Narayan Muni said:-
It is said that husband is the only God for a chaste lady. So, she should serve him alone, with devotion and respect him like God Himself. 1.
She should wake up early in the morning, then cleansing the utensils etc, take bath and wear fresh and clean clothes, keep herself always clean and then engage herself in the service of her husband. 2.
She should give him fresh and clean water for bath. After having given him washed clothes, should then wash his feet with love. 3
After offering him a seat, she should apply sandal paste on his forehead, on both hands, arms and chest, and put a garland in his neck. 4.
With chants as ‘I bow down to you O Lord’ she should offer him nectar-like sweet milk and eatables, worship him with devotion, praise him and salute him happily. 5.
Having cleansed herself, she should clean the grains in bright light and cook food favourite to him, in a clean place and serve it. 6.
A faithful wife should eat after her husband has taken his food; wait upon if he is standing, sleep only after he has slept and should wake up before he gets up. 7.
She should never present herself before her husband without putting on ornaments. On the other hand, if he is sent out of town for some job, then she should not wear ornaments. 8.
Wishing long life for him, she should not utter his name. Besides that, she should also not utter even other person’s name sharing the same name as her husband’s. 9. .
Though, abused by him, she should neither retaliate nor protest nor oppose even though beaten, and still be graceful. In addition, she should not stand at the door step for a long time and never speak loudly. 10.
If he calls she should leave her household work for a while and immediately attend him. When he orders, she should modestly say, ‘O Lord here I am, do order me’. 11.
Even if not asked for by her husband, she should keep everything ready for the worship of Lord Shri Hari and should bring the material as required from time to time. 12.
She should eat the food and fruits of her husband’s liking and whatever leftover or abandoned by him. If her husband offers something (eatable) to her she should accept it with words ‘what a great grace’. 13.
She, the chaste wife should not eat before offering food to God, manes, guests, cows, beggars and servants. 14.
She should give food to Brahmins, weak, orphans, poor, blinds, and those who are hungry. 15.
She should not be extravagant. She should be of a pleasing nature, always be active and should keep all the household articles in their proper place. However, she should not take any vow as observance of fast and so forth without taking permission of her husband. 16.
A well-behaved chaste lady should avoid attending any social functions. Besides, she should neither go alone for a pilgrimage nor even for a marriage ceremony. 17.
If the husband is sleeping calmly or passing his time leisurely at his own will, the wife should never disturb him, even there is some important or secret work. 18.
If she is going through menstrual course she should not show her face for three nights. Also, she should not make her husband to hear her speech or voice until she is purified herself by taking a bath. 19.
Having taken a bath (after three days) she should then look at her husband’s face only and never of any other person; or she should concentrate upon her husband in mind and worship the sun. 20.
A loyal chaste lady who desires a long life for her husband, should always decorate herself. She should never keep away from the auspicious materials like kum-kum, turmeric, Sindur, collyrium in eye; and put on Choli (bra), (eat) betel leaf (as it makes the lips red), put on auspicious ornaments; keeping her hair neat in a braid and put on bangles and earrings. 21- 22.
She should never make friendship with the ladies like launderer’s wife, one approaching her with some (bad) motive, a renounced lady, or an unfortunate one. 23.
She should never trust or make friendship with a treacherous lady or a lady who is fond of seeing shows or eunuchs. 24.
She should not make friendship with a lady who wears men’s dress, a talkative one or a lady who wanders from house to house unnecessarily. 25.
She should not keep friendship with a lady interested in gambling, or an addict one, or a cruel one or one who is wanton. 26.
She should not make friendship with a lady who is short tempered, one who sales win, a thief, wicked minded, fickle minded or a gluttonous one. 27.
She should never speak with lady who hates her husband. In addition, she should never remain alone or take bath without clothes on. 28.
She should never sit upon a wooden mortar or a pestle, broom, stone, some mechanical device, or on the threshold of a door. 29.
She should never become bold except the sexual sport. She should follow the interests of her husband only. 30.
She should not sit on a higher or raised seat. She should not go to stranger’s house. She should never use any vulgar speech or indecent words. 31.
She should not laugh or speak loudly in front of the elderly persons; should not speak with a stranger or another man or touch a man other than her husband. 32.
She should speak with a mendicant, merchant, doctor or an old man- only that much which is necessary.33.
She should not stare at a man, even at any animal intentionally. Also, she should never quarrel or argue with anybody. 34.
It is stated in the scriptures that her own husband is the only one who is good for her. So she should always respect him and always obey him and never cross his order. 35.
Even if the husband is impotent, deposed, a patient (deceased), old, has a bad character or ugly looking, she should, by all means serve him. 36.
If he is pleased she should get pleased. If he is nervous she should become nervous. Therefore, she should mix her identity with him in good and bad times. 37.
If ghee, salt, oil and such grocery is not in the house or finished, she should not say that it is not in the house and unnecessarily make him worry or work for it. 38.
As soon as she sees him coming home from outside, she should immediately get up, give him water and offer him a seat, betel leaf, fan him, massage his feet, should welcome him with sweet and soft words and remove his fatigue; by standing modestly besides him with folded hand. 39- 40.
Husband is the very God, the preceptor; he is the very religion, pilgrimage and vows (for his wife). So, a wife should never insult him. 41.
A man other than her husband may he be a God, human being, semi divine being, well decorated, wealthy or handsome one; he is poisonous for the lady. 42.
She should follow her husband just like his shadow. It is said by the Brahmins at the marriage that ‘be a companion to husband’. 43.
She should first take the permission of her husband before obser- ving any daily or special vows, fasts or religious observances. 44.
If a chaste lady some-how fails in any of these above duties, she should immediately observe expiation; 45.
If she fails to observe any of these vows (unintentionally), among which early waking, is prime important; she should observe a fast separately for each of them. 46.
If that lady due to her defective nature, speaks out some bad words that have come forth from the fifth mouth of Brahmadeva, she should observe the vow named Pada (one forth) Kruchra. 47.
Thus I have stated the duties of a chaste woman in brief. It is very rare, to find a chaste lady who follows all these duties. 48.
A lady who observes the vows, fast and follows religious duties without the permission of her husband-she shortens the his life and goes to hell. 49.
A lady, who fails in attending her duties towards her husband, looses the fruits earned by religious vows and fasts and her merit too. 50.
A lady who is always loyal to her husband in action, speech and by mind will get auspicious fruit and not the other one (who is opposite to this). 51.
Soft- spoken, clean natured, contended, of auspicious behaviour and physically unspoiled, ladies hold the whole world. 52.
Physically molested lady has no atonement. She is just ruined. Ancient teachers have laid down atonement rites for speaking with another man indecently. 53.
A Physically corrupt lady never gets to heaven even for infinite time. She gets roasted and always gets birth into animal species or those of lower birth. 54.
And even if such a woman gets birth as a human being she gets it in the lowest caste, eats dog meat and is wicked by nature. 55.
At times she is asked to do some work by her husband and if she answers back, him angrily, she becomes a jackal in a lonely forest or gets birth as a bitch in a village. 56.
If a blunt leaves her husband and goes with some other person privately, she then becomes a cruel she-owl living in the hole of a tree in the next birth. 57.
If beaten by her husband, the lady who wishes to beat him back she becomes a cat; and a lady who stares at a stranger (with special intention) becomes squint eyed in the next birth. 58.
A lady who eats sweets alone, and does not share it with her husband, she becomes a pig or one, eating her own filth. 59.
A woman who talks to her husband disrespectfully become dumb or she is jealous of her co-wives becomes a widow in her following births. 60.
A lady who glances strangers and cheats her husband will become squint eyed, or of deposed face or ugly, on this earth. 61.
If women, who by their bad character make to fall three families of their father, mother and husband; such type of women are always in distress in this and the other world. 62.
If chastity of women is polluted, husbands, though meritorious, descend from the hard-earned heaven to the earth. Thus, the woman should always protect her purity. 63.
This body- the abode of many meritorious deeds gained through noble deeds must be protected by a woman from the illusory pleasure of touch of a stranger, by special efforts. 64.
A woman earns fame in this world and here after stays in heaven forever and enjoys friendship with the Goddess Laxmi- due to her chastity. 65.
If the husband turns away his face from Vasudeva or is adverse to Vasudeva, or commits an extravagant sin, then only a lady should leave him. 66.
She should serve God until he purifies himself from the sin by atonement. Thereafter she should again serve him like a God. 67.
That chaste lady enjoys pleasure in the heaven with her husband for years and years- the number of the hairs on her body multiplied by million (that much periods of time). 68.
Blessed is the mother in this world, and also the father; fortunate and happy is the husband who has a faithful lady. 69.
A man who has earned merit in hundred births is the only lucky person to have a religious and loyal wife. 70.
Three ancestors’ of father, mother and husband’s side enjoy heavenly pleasures due to the merit of a loyal wife. 71.
These ladies can also achieve salvation for themselves as well as their husbands who could be ignoble, stupid or sinful. 72.
Even the sun, moon and wind touch a chaste a woman to purify themselves with fear in their mind and not otherwise. 73.
All the places of pilgrimage on this earth are embodied in a chaste woman. The lustre of all the Gods and sages are incorporated in her body. 74.
The earth immediately becomes purified by the touch of the dust of the feet of a chaste woman. And to the above, a sinner gets rid of his sins by bowing down to her. 75.
By the power of her own lustre, that greatly meritorious lady is capable of burning all the three worlds into ashes within no time. 76.
There are very few chaste ladies on this earth like Arundhati, Savitri, Anasuya, Shandilya, Ahalya, Sati, Draupadi, Shatarupa, Mena, Suniti, Sanjnya, Svaha and Lopamudra. 77 - 78.
O learned Brahmin, immoral ladies behaving like bitch, can be found in most households. Blessed is that rare chaste lady even born in human race, whose feet are adored by the goddesses. 79.
Thus ends the thirty-first chapter entitled, ‘narration of code of conduct for wife dedicated to husband in the code of conduct for women,’ in the fifth Prakaran of Satsangi jivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as Dharmashastra. (the rules of the code of conduct). 31