Dakshasmriti 4
English (machine translation) 4
- Language
- English
Contents
- 4.21 — 1 part
4.1
The home of men is rooted in the wife, if she conforms to his will; / there is nothing equal to the householder stage of life, if the wife is obedient.
4.2
Through her, he enjoys the fruit of the three aims: dharma, wealth, and desire; / but if she indulges in self-will and is not restrained out of fondness,
4.3
she will later become uncontrollable, like a neglected disease. / She who is compliant, not harsh in speech, capable, a virtuous woman, speaking kindly,
4.4
self-controlled, devoted to her husband—she is a goddess, not a mortal.
4.5
For him whose wife is compliant, heaven is right here [on earth]; / for him whose wife is hostile, there is hell, without a doubt.
4.6
Mutual affection is difficult to find even in heaven; / when one is loving and the other is indifferent, what indeed is more painful than that?
4.7
Living in a house is for the sake of happiness; happiness in the house is rooted in the wife. / She is a true wife who is modest, understands the mind, and is obedient.
4.8
Another is sorrowful, always miserable, causing discord between minds, / for one with a hostile wife, and especially for one with two wives.
4.9
Every woman is like a leech; by ornaments, clothing, and food, / even when provided with prosperity constantly, she surely drags a man down.
4.10
The poor leech takes only blood; / but the other takes wealth, property, flesh, semen, strength, and happiness.
4.11
Full of fear in girlhood, in youth she turns away, / and later in old age she considers her own husband like a blade of grass.
4.12
Compliant, not harsh in speech, capable, a virtuous woman, a devoted wife— / endowed with these very virtues, a woman is Śrī herself, without a doubt.
4.13
She who is always joyful in mind, discerning of occasion and respect, / always pleasing to her husband, she is a true wife; any other is mere affliction.
4.14
A student, a wife, a child, a brother, a son, a servant, and a dependent— / one whose dependents are well-disciplined enjoys respect in the world.
4.15
The first is the lawful wife, and the second is the enhancer of pleasure; / there, only a visible effect arises, not an unseen spiritual effect.
4.16
She is declared to be the lawful wife if she is without fault; / if there is a fault, there is no fault [in marrying] another wife endowed with virtues.
4.17
He who abandons in her youth a wife who is not seen to have fallen, / at the end of his life he shall attain womanhood and barrenness.
4.18
She who scorns a husband who is poor or afflicted by disease / is born again and again as a bitch, a female vulture, and a crocodile.
4.19
The woman who ascends the fire when her husband has died / becomes one of auspicious conduct and is honored in the heavenly realm.
4.20
Just as a snake-catcher draws out a snake from a hole by force, / in the same way, having delivered her husband, she rejoices with him.
4.21
Those who have relapsed into the state of a cāṇḍāla, wandering ascetics, and ascetics— / one should make the children born of them live with the cāṇḍālas.
4.21.p1
Thus ends the fourth chapter in the Dharmaśāstra of Dakṣa.
Linked texts (1)
- Dakṣasmṛti — Dakṣa, Sanskrit