Skandapurana 4.4.16
English (machine translation) 4.4.16
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4.4.16.1
Sūta said: / “When questioned by the sage then, O venerable one, what did the gods say? / Speak of that, O great sage, for the welfare of the whole world.” // Śrī Vyāsa said: / Having heard Agastya's words preceded by great respect, / the gods looked toward the face of the lord of intelligence. // The lord of speech [Bṛhaspati] said: / “Listen, O highly fortunate Agastya, to the reason for the gods' arrival. / You are blessed, your purpose is accomplished, and you are venerable even to the great. // Are there not ascetics in every hermitage, on every mountain, in every forest, / O best of sages? Yet your state is quite unique. // The glory of austerity is present here in you; brahminic splendour is firmly established in you; / the supreme glory of merit is in you, generosity is in you, and [greatness of] mind is in you. // This auspicious, faithful wife Lopāmudrā is your partner in religious duties, / equal to the shadow of your body, whose tale brings merit. // Among devoted wives—such as Arundhatī, Sāvitrī, and Anasūyā, / Śāṇḍilyā, Satī, Lakṣmī, Śatarūpā, // Menā, Sunīti, Saṃjñā, and also Svāhā— / just as she is celebrated as the best, none other is, undoubtedly. // When you have eaten, O sage, she eats; when you stand, she stands; / she sleeps after you fall asleep, and wakes before [you]. // She never shows herself to you unadorned; / when you have gone abroad for some task, she is entirely devoid of adornments. // She would not utter your name, for the increase of your lifespan; / nor does she ever utter the name of another man. // Even when reviled, she does not revile in return; even when struck, she remains pleased; / and she says: ‘Master, consider that done which you say: “Do this.”’ // When called, she leaves her household duties and goes swiftly, [saying,] / ‘For what purpose was I called, Lord? Grant your gracious favour.’ // She does not linger long in the doorway, nor does she frequent the doorway; / without having been instructed by you, she gives nothing to anyone. // Unasked, she procures on her own all the articles for worship:
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the prescribed water, sacrificial grass, leaves, flowers, unbroken grains, and the like. // Awaiting the right occasion, whatever is suited to each time, / all that she presents without agitation, like one overjoyed. // She partakes of her husband's leftovers, the favoured food, fruits, and the like; / saying, ‘It is a great grace,’ she receives whatever is handed over. // And she would not eat without having distributed [shares] to the gods, ancestors, and guests, / to the household servants, to cows, and to the mendicants. // Restrained with utensils, capable, cheerful, averse to wasteful expense, / she would not observe fasting, vows, and the like unless permitted by you. // From afar she would avoid witnessing gatherings and festivities; / she would not go on pilgrimages to sacred fords, to witness marriages, or the like. // When her husband is sleeping comfortably, sitting comfortably, or amusing himself at will, / she would never awaken him, even for intimate matters. // While in her monthly course, for three nights she should not show her face at all, / nor let her voice be heard, until she is purified by bathing. // Well bathed, she gazes upon her husband's face and never upon another's; / or, meditating on her husband in her mind, she may look at the sun. // Turmeric, vermilion, red lead, kohl, / bodice, betel, auspicious ornaments, / arranging the hair in a braid, ornaments for hands and ears, and the like— / desiring longevity for her husband, a devoted wife should not discard these. // Neither with a washerwoman, nor with a logician, nor with an ascetic woman, / nor ever with an unfortunate woman does a virtuous wife make friendship. // She never converses with a woman who hates her husband; / she should never be alone, nor does she ever bathe naked. // Neither upon a mortar, nor a pestle, nor a broom, nor a grinding stone, / nor by an oil mill, nor upon the threshold should a virtuous wife ever sit. // Except at the time of intercourse, she should never display bold audacity; / wherever her husband takes delight, therein she is always loving. // This alone is the vow of women; this alone is their supreme virtue.”
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This alone is the worship of the gods: she should not transgress her husband's word. / Whether he is impotent, in misery, diseased, or even old,
prosperous or destitute, she should never transgress her husband alone. / Always rejoicing when he is pleased, downcast when her beloved is downcast,
she, the virtuous woman, should be of one uniform nature both in prosperity and in adversity. / Even upon the exhaustion of clarified butter, salt, oil, and the like, a devoted wife
should not say to her husband, 'There is none,' nor should she burden him with hardships. / A woman desirous of bathing in sacred waters should drink the water that washed her husband's feet;
far beyond even Śaṃkara or Viṣṇu, her husband alone is superior for a woman. / She who undertakes vows, fasts, and observances by transgressing her husband
steals the life span of her husband, and when dead, goes to hell. / The woman who, prone to anger, retorts back when spoken to,
is born as a bitch in a village or a female jackal in a deserted forest. / For of women this one supreme observance is declared:
having worshipped the feet of her husband, she should eat with firm resolve. / She should not sit upon an elevated seat, nor should she frequent the houses of strangers;
words that cause shame are never to be spoken [by her].
Slander must not be uttered; dispute she should shun from afar. / In the presence of elders she should never speak loudly or laugh.
The foolish woman who, abandoning her husband, wanders about in secret, / is born as a cruel female owl living in a hollow of a tree.
If, when struck, she desires to strike back, she becomes a tigress or a female cat; / and she who casts sidelong glances at another man becomes squint-eyed.
She who, abandoning her husband, eats sweet foods alone, / becomes an inhabitant of a village, a bat feeding on canine feces.
She who, snorting 'humph,' speaks an unpleasant word, indeed becomes dumb; / she who is constantly envious of a co-wife becomes wretched time and time again.
She who, disregarding the sight of her husband, looks at someone else, / becomes one-eyed, averted of face, and deformed.
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Seeing him arriving from outside, she should swiftly attend him with water and food, / with betel, fans, foot-massages, and the like;
likewise, with pleasing words and supreme removers of weariness, / she who gratifies her beloved with joy has gratified the three worlds.
A father gives in limited measure, a brother gives in limited measure, a son gives in limited measure; / but a husband is the giver of the boundless—she should always worship him.
The husband is a deity, the husband is a teacher, the husband is dharma, sacred fords, and observances; / therefore, abandoning everything, she should venerate her husband alone.
Just as a body bereft of life goes to impurity in an instant, / so a woman bereft of a husband, even though well-bathed, is ever impure.
Of all inauspicious things, a widow is bereft of auspiciousness; / from the sight of a widow, success is never attained anywhere at any time.
Leaving aside one's mother alone, who is devoid of all auspiciousness, / a wise man should shun even her blessing as though it were a venomous snake.
At the time of a maiden's wedding, the twice-born should recite this: / 'Be the companion of your husband whether he is alive or departed.'
A husband must always be followed by a woman like a shadow by a body, / as the moon by moonlight, as a cloud by lightning.
She who gladly follows her husband from the house to the cemetery / undoubtedly attains the fruit of an aśvamedha at every step.
Just as a snake-catcher forcefully pulls out a snake from a hole, / so a virtuous wife, snatching her husband from the messengers, leads him to heaven.
The messengers of Yama flee far away seeing a virtuous wife, / releasing her husband even if he has committed wicked deeds.
'We messengers are not so afraid of fire, nor are we so afraid of lightning, / as when seeing a devoted wife swooping down.'
The sun burns intensely, and even fire is scorched; / all splendors tremble upon seeing the majesty of devotion to a husband.
For as many tens of millions of years as there are hairs [on his body],
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rejoicing with her husband, the devoted wife enjoys heavenly bliss.
Blessed is that mother in the world, blessed again is that father, / and blessed is that glorious husband in whose house there is a devoted wife.
Three lineages of the father, three of the mother, and three of the husband— / by the merit of a devoted wife, they enjoy the pleasures of heaven.
Misbehaved women, by the destruction of good conduct, drag down the three lineages— / of father, mother, and husband—and become sorrowful here and in the hereafter.
Wherever the foot of a devoted wife touches the earth, / there the earth considers: 'Here, the purifying woman leaves no burden [upon me].'
Even the sun, fearing, touches the devoted wife; / the moon and the wind also [touch her] only for their own purification, not otherwise.
The waters ever desire the touch of a devoted wife: / 'Today our dullness is destroyed; today we have become the purifiers of others.'
Are there not women in every house, proud of their form and charm? / But a devoted wife is obtained only through devotion to the Lord of the Universe.
A wife is the root of the householder; a wife is the root of happiness; / a wife yields the fruits of dharma; a wife is for the increase of offspring.
The next world and this world—both are won by a wife; / a wifeless man is not fit for the rites of gods, ancestors, guests, and sacrifices.
He indeed should be known as a householder in whose house is a devoted wife; / another woman devours him at every step like an ogress or old age.
Just as the body becomes purified by immersion in the Gaṅgā, / so one becomes purified by the auspicious sight of a devoted wife.
If by fate she somehow does not follow her husband [in death], / even then her good conduct must be preserved; by the breach of good conduct she falls low.
Through her fault, her husband also falls from heaven, not otherwise; / [and likewise] her father, mother, and group of brothers.
And that woman who, upon her husband's death, observes widowhood with restraint, / having attained her husband once again, enjoys the delights of heaven.
4.4.16.6
The braid of a widow's hair leads to the binding of her husband; / therefore, a widow should always shave her head. // 74
She should always take only one meal [a day], never a second; / or she should observe a fast of three nights, five nights, or a fortnight, // 75
or she should undertake a fast for a month, or perform the cāndrāyaṇa; / or she should perform the severe kṛcchra, or the taptakṛcchra. // 76
With barley foods, with a diet of fruits, with a diet of vegetables, or with diets restricted to milk, / she should sustain life until her life-breath departs of its own accord. // 77
A woman who sleeps on a bedstead, being a widow, brings about her husband's downfall; / therefore, she should sleep on the bare ground with the desire for her husband's welfare. // 78
Nor should anointing the body be done at any time by a widowed woman; / further, application of fragrant substances should never be done by her. // 79
Each day she must offer water libations to her husband with kuśa grass, sesame, and water, / and likewise to his father and his grandfather, reciting their name and gotra. // 80
Moreover, the worship of Viṣṇu should be performed with the contemplation that he is her husband, and not otherwise; / she should constantly meditate on her husband alone as Hari bearing the form of Viṣṇu. // 81
Whatever is most cherished in the world and whatever was desired by her husband, / that she should bestow upon a virtuous man, desiring to please her husband. // 82
In the months of Vaiśākha, Kārttika, and Māgha, she should observe special vows: / ritual ablution, giving of gifts, pilgrimage to sacred fords, and repeated recitation of Viṣṇu's name. // 83
Water pitchers in Vaiśākha, lamps of clarified butter in Kārttika, / and offerings of grain and sesame in Māgha are celebrated as leading to heaven. // 84
A water shed should be set up in Vaiśākha, and a dripping water-pot offered to the god; / shoes, a fan, an umbrella, fine garments, sandalwood paste, // 85
betel with camphor, as well as the gift of flowers, / many water-vessels, and houses decorated with flowers, // 86
various drinks, and fruits such as grapes and plantains / should be given to the foremost of brahmins, saying, “May my husband be pleased.” // 87
In the month of Ūrja, she should eat barley food, or only one meal a day.
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She should avoid eggplant, sūraṇa yam, and velvet bean. // 88
In Kārttika she should avoid oil, in Kārttika she should avoid honey, / in Kārttika she should avoid bell-metal, and in Kārttika she should avoid fermented food. // 89
During a vow of silence in Kārttika, she should present a beautiful bell; / if she has vowed to eat from leaves, she presents a bell-metal vessel filled with clarified butter. // 90
Under the vow of sleeping on the ground, a smooth bed with a mattress should be given; / upon abstaining from fruits, fruit should be given; upon abstaining from flavors, that flavor; // 91
upon abstaining from grain, that grain—or else fine rice is prescribed; / she should diligently give milk-cows adorned with ornaments and gold. // 92
All gifts on one side, and the gift of a lamp on the other: / [all gifts] do not equal a sixteenth part of the gift of a lamp in Kārttika. // 93
When the sun has slightly risen, she should perform the Māgha ritual ablution; / and one who performs the Māgha ritual ablution should undertake religious observances according to her ability. // 94
She should feed brahmins, ascetics, and practitioners of austerities with cooked foods: / with laḍḍukas, pheṇikās, vaṭakas, iṇḍarikās, and the like, // 95
cooked in clarified butter, seasoned with pepper, perfumed with pure camphor, / filled inside with sugar, pleasing to the eyes, and fragrant. // 96
She should also give loads of dry firewood to dispel the cold, / a bodice stuffed with cotton, a soft mattress, and a fine sacred thread, // 97
garments dyed with madder, and cotton cloths, / and many betel leaves with nutmeg and cloves, // 98
variegated blankets, rooms free of drafts, / soft footwear, and fragrant unguents, // 99
preceded by great ritual ablutions, with worship using clarified butter and blankets, / with incenses such as black agallochum burnt in the inner sanctum, // 100
with lamps of thick wicks, and likewise with diverse offerings of food; / and she should say, “May the Lord, who is the true form of my husband, be pleased.” // 1
With such various vows and observances, a widow / should thus spend the months of Vaiśākha, Kārttika, and Māgha. // 2
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She must not mount an ox even if her life-breath has reached her throat; / she should not wear a bodice, nor put on any dyed garment. // 3
Devoted to her husband, she should do nothing without asking her sons. / Ever intent on such conduct, even a widow is considered auspicious. // 4
Thus endowed with righteousness, even a widow is a devoted wife; / she attains the worlds of her husband and will never partake of sorrow. // 5
There is no difference between the Gaṅgā and that woman for whom her husband is her deity; / she is directly equal to Umā and Śiva. Therefore, a wise man should revere her. // 6
Bṛhaspati said: / The fruit of bathing in the Gaṅgā is indeed this: that darśana of you has taken place, / O Lopāmudrā, O great mother, whose gaze is fixed upon the lotus feet of your husband! // 7
Having thus praised the illustrious princess, the devoted wife, / and having bowed down, the Guru, skilled in all matters, addressed the sage: // 8
“You are the Praṇava; she is the Śruti. She is forbearance; you yourself are tapas. / She is virtuous action; you indeed are its fruit. Blessed are you, O great sage! // 9
This is the splendor of wifely devotion; you are the supreme brāhmanical splendor. / Moreover, there is this splendor of your tapas: what could ever be too difficult for you? // 110
Nothing is unknown to you, yet I speak nevertheless; / listen here, O sage, to the reason for which the gods have arrived. // 11
Here is the glorious hundred-sacrificer [Indra], the slayer of Vṛtra, armed with the thunderbolt, / at whose gate the eight supernatural powers await the favor of his glance; // 12
on the outskirts of whose city herds of wish-fulfilling cows graze; / whose citizens sleep constantly beneath the shades of the wish-fulfilling trees; // 13
and on whose streets these wish-fulfilling gems lie like pebbles. / Here is Agni, the origin of the universe, and here is Dharmarāja; // 14
and these are Nirṛti, Varuṇa, Vāyu, Kubera, the Rudras, and the rest— / lords who are worshipped by rites for the attainment of all desires. // 15
These are those who entreat; but it is you who must be petitioned for the sake of the universe. / That which can be accomplished by the mere effort of speech will bring welfare to the entire world.” // 16
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit