Skandapurana 3.2.7

English (machine translation) 3.2.7

Language: English

3.2.7.79 — 6 parts

3.2.7.79.1

Vyāsa said: / Having reached the Dharmavāpī pool, whoever performs the water-offering to the ancestors— / the ancestors attain satisfaction for as long as the fourteen Indras rule. 1 / And the ancestors are to be worshiped here, as well as the forebears who have gone to heaven; / one should offer piṇḍas to them, having reached this [pool] which grants liberation. 2 / In the Tretā age by five days, in the Dvāpara age by three days, / but in the Kali age, O brahmins, whoever offers a piṇḍa with single-minded devotion [gains the fruit]. 3 / For in the world men have become greedy once the Kali age has arrived; / people are devoted to others' wives, and women are very fickle; 4 / all men, women, and eunuchs are intent on malice toward others, / constantly devoted to reviling others, looking for others' flaws, 5 / surely causing anxiety to others, quarrelsome, creating dissension among friends— / all of them attain purity; the masters of fate have declared this themselves. 6 / This has been spoken, O fortunate one, as the description of Dharmāraṇya / and all the fruit here which was declared by the trident-bearing [Śiva]: 7 / pure in speech, mind, and body, averting their faces from others' wives, / free from malice, even-minded when angered, devoted to mother and father, 8 / free from fickleness, devoid of greed, devoted to the duty of giving, / believing, knowing righteousness, and dedicated to devotion to their master; 9 / and a devoted wife who is dedicated to serving her husband; / harmless, hospitable, and always delighting in their own duty. 3.2.7.10 / Śaunaka said: / Listen, O fortunate Sūta, best of all knowers of righteousness: / The good conduct of householders has been heard by me from your mouth. 11 / Tell me today one thing desired by my mind, O Sūta's son: / Tell me, of what nature are the characteristics of all devoted wives? 12 / Sūta said: / He in whose home there is a devoted wife, his life is fruitful; / she who is like a shadow of his body, whose conduct generates merit. 13 / Devoted wives are equal to Arundhatī, Sāvitrī, and Anasūyā, / to Śāṇḍilyā, Satyā, Lakṣmī, Śatarūpā, 14 / Menā, Sunīti, Saṃjñā, and Svāhā.

3.2.7.79.2

The duties of faithful wives were indeed proclaimed by the sage:
She eats after her husband has eaten, and she stands waiting upon him.
She sleeps after he has fallen asleep, and awakens before [him].
She keeps herself unadorned when her husband is in a foreign land;
when he has gone abroad on business anywhere, she is completely stripped of ornaments.
She does not utter her husband's name, indeed for the increase of his life;
nor does she ever utter the name of another man.
Even when reviled she should not revile him, and even when struck she is gracious;
she says: "Let it be considered, master, that this which was to be done is done."
When summoned, she abandons household chores and goes swiftly:
"For what purpose was I called, lord? Let that favor be bestowed."
She does not stand long at the doorway, nor does she frequent the doorway.
She never gives away on her own anything that should not be given.
Without being told, she prepares on her own all the articles of worship,
where the water for vows, the darbha grass, flowers, unbroken grains, and the like [are kept].
Anticipating [his wishes], whatever is appropriate for the time,
she should set it all before him, cheerful and without irritation.
She consumes the leftovers of her husband's desirable food, fruits, and the like.
She should avoid from afar watching public gatherings and festivals;
she should not go on pilgrimages to sacred fords, to watch weddings, and such things.
When he is happily asleep, sitting at ease, or amusing himself at will,
she should never wake her husband, even if there is an obstacle in affairs.
During her menstrual period, for three nights she must not show her face,
nor make her speech heard, until she is purified by bathing.
Having bathed well, she should look at the face of her husband and never that of another;
or, meditating upon her husband in her mind, she may look at the sun.
Turmeric, saffron, vermilion, and collyrium,
a bodice, betel, auspicious ornaments,
the dressing of hair, and ornaments for the hands, ears, and so forth—

3.2.7.79.3

wishing for her husband's long life, the faithful wife should not put [these] away.
She never converses with a woman who hates her husband.
She should never be alone anywhere, nor should she ever bathe naked.
Neither on a mortar, nor on a pestle, nor on a broom, nor on a grinding-stone,
nor on an oil-press, nor on the threshold should a virtuous woman ever sit.
Except at the time of sexual union, she should nowhere display boldness.
Wherever her husband has a liking, there she is always full of love.
This alone is the vow of women, this alone is the supreme virtue,
and this alone is worship: she must not transgress the word of her husband.
Whether he is impotent, in distress, diseased, or old,
well-situated or destitute, she must not transgress her husband alone.
Even when ghee, salt, asafoetida, and the like are exhausted, a faithful wife
should not say to her husband, "There is none," nor serve him in iron vessels.
Desiring the bath of a sacred ford, she should drink the water from her husband's feet.
For a woman, her husband is even greater than Śaṃkara or Viṣṇu.
She who observes vows, fasts, and observances by transgressing her husband
takes away her husband's longevity, and having died, she goes to hell.
When addressed, the woman who gives a retorting answer, full of anger,
becomes a female dog in a village, or a female jackal in a deserted forest.
For women, one supreme observance has been declared:
having worshipped the feet of her husband, she should eat with a resolute mind.
She should not occupy an elevated seat, nor go to the houses of others;
there she should never utter harsh words,
nor should she speak loudly or shout in the presence of elders.
The evil-minded woman who, abandoning her husband, wanders in secret,
becomes a cruel female owl dwelling in the hollow of a tree.
If, being struck, she strikes him, she becomes a tigress or a female cat;
she who casts sidelong glances at another man becomes cross-eyed.
She who, abandoning her husband, eats sweet foods alone—

3.2.7.79.4

she becomes a female sow in a village, or a dung-eating bat.
She who speaks unpleasantly, crying out in defiance, truly becomes mute.
She who constantly envies her co-wife becomes wretched birth after birth.
She who, averting her eyes from her husband, looks at another,
becomes one-eyed, or deformed-faced, or ugly.
Seeing him arriving from outside, she hurries with water and a seat,
with betel leaves, fans, and foot massage and the like,
and likewise with charming words and excellent wiping of sweat;
she who, being pleased, satisfies her beloved—by her the three worlds are satisfied.
A father gives in limited measure, a brother gives in limited measure, a son gives a son;
who would not worship a husband, the giver of limitless [blessings]?
The husband is a deity, the husband is a guru, the husband is dharma, sacred fords, and vows;
therefore, casting aside everything, one should worship the husband alone.
Just as an embodied being devoid of life attains impurity in an instant,
so a woman devoid of her husband, though well-bathed, is always impure.
A widow is more inauspicious than all inauspicious things;
from the sight of a widow, success never arises anywhere.
Excepting one's mother alone, all [widows] are devoid of auspiciousness;
a wise man should shun even their blessing as if it were a venomous snake.
At the time of a maiden's wedding, the twice-born should pronounce:
"May she be her husband's companion whether he is living or deceased."
Joyfully following her husband from the house to the cremation ground,
she undoubtedly attains the fruit of an Aśvamedha sacrifice at every step.
Just as a snake-catcher forcibly draws a serpent from its hole,
so the virtuous wife, having snatched her husband from the messengers, ascends to heaven.
The messengers of Yama flee upon seeing that faithful wife;
surely the sun is burned, and fire itself is consumed,
and all lusters tremble upon seeing the majesty of fidelity to a husband.
For as many tens of millions of years as the number of hairs on her body,
the faithful wife, rejoicing with her husband, enjoys the bliss of heaven.

3.2.7.79.5

Blessed is that mother in the world, and blessed indeed is that father, / and blessed is that fortunate husband in whose house there is a devoted wife. / Three ancestral lines on the father's side, three on the mother's side, and three on the husband's side / enjoy heavenly delights through the merit of a devoted wife. / But wicked women, through breach of virtue, bring down the three families; / causing sorrow here and in the next world to father, mother, and husband. / Wherever the foot of a devoted wife touches the ground, / that place of a sacred ford is to be revered; there is no greater purifier than this. / Even the Sun, out of awe, touches the devoted wife; / Soma and the Gandharva do so too, only for their own purification, not otherwise. / The waters constantly long for the touch of a devoted wife. / Destruction of sins does not come merely by the Gāyatrī; she destroys sins through her devotion to her husband. / Are there not in every house women proud of their beauty and charm? / But a devoted wife is obtained only through devotion to the Lord of the Universe. / The wife is the root of the householder, the wife is the root of happiness; / the wife is indeed for the fruit of dharma, the wife is for the increase of offspring. / Both worlds, the other world and this world, are conquered through a wife; / and the satisfaction of gods, ancestors, and guests in the house comes through a wife. / He alone should be known as a householder in whose house is a devoted wife. / Just as the body becomes purified by plunging into the Gaṅgā, / so a house becomes purified by seeing a devoted wife. / A widow sleeping on a bed causes her husband to fall; / therefore sleeping on the ground should be practiced, desiring the husband's happiness. / Anointing the limbs with ointments should never be done by a widow; / she should never enjoy fragrant substances. / A daily tarpaṇa should be made for her husband with water, kuśa grass, and sesame seeds, / as well as for his father and his grandfather, reciting their names, gotras, and so forth. / Worship of Viṣṇu should be performed with the thought that he is her husband, and not otherwise.

3.2.7.79.6

She should always meditate upon her husband as Hari bearing the form of Viṣṇu. / Whatever is most cherished in the world, whatever was desired by the husband, / all that should be given to a worthy person with the desire to please the husband. / In the months of Vaiśākha and Kārttika she should observe special observances: / ritual ablution, charitable gifts, pilgrimage to sacred fords, and repeated hearing of the Purāṇas. / In Vaiśākha, water jars; in Kārttika, lamps of clarified butter; / and in Māgha, the offering of grain and sesame seeds are considered superior in the heavenly realm. / In Vaiśākha a water kiosk should be made, and a dripping water pot offered to the deity; / along with uśīra grass, a fan, an umbrella, fine garments, and sandalwood paste; / betel with camphor, and likewise the giving of flowers, / numerous water vessels, and pavilions of flowers; / varied cooling drinks, and grapes and plantains / should be given to foremost twice-born men, saying, 'May my husband be pleased.' / In the month of Ūrja she should eat barley food or else a single meal a day; / she should avoid eggplant, elephant yam, and cowhage beans. / In Kārttika she should avoid oil and also avoid bronze. / During a vow of silence in Kārttika, she should present a beautiful bell. / One eating from leaves gives a bronze vessel filled with clarified butter; / when observing the vow of sleeping on the ground, a smooth bed with a mattress should be given.

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Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit

Skandapurana 3.2.7

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