sixty-fourth wife

[Guest guest]

It is still the system that the daughter must get married. That is the

responsibility of the father. It is called kanya-dana. A father may not get

his son married. That is not very great responsibility. But if there is a

daughter, the father must see that she is married. Formerly it was ten

years, twelve years, thirteen years. Not more than that. That is the system.

That was the Vedic system. Kanya. Kanya means before attaining puberty.

Kanya. So kanya-dana. She must be given in charity tosomebody. So, in the

pulina brahmana, brahmana, very respectable community, so it was very

difficult to find out a suitable son-in-law. Therefore, formerly one

gentleman may become a businessman simply by marrying. In my boyhood, when I

was a student, a school student, so I had one class friend, he took me to

his home. So I saw one gentleman was smoking, and he told me, "Do you know

this gentleman?" So I asked, "Oh, how can I know?" That "He is my aunt's

husband, and my aunt is the sixty-fourth wife of this gentleman."

Sixty-fourth. So, these pulina brahmanas, they, their business was like

that. Marry somewhere, stay there some days, again go to another wife, again

go to another wife, again go to another. Simply going to the wife, that is

business. This was a social system we have seen. Now these things are now

gone. Nobody will marry the husband who has married sixty-four times.

(laughter) But (laughing) it was there. So, son-in-law, in that case, is

very much honored. There are many stories. We should not wste our time in

that way. (laughter)

 

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.35 -- Los Angeles, April 27,

1973 (New-2003)

 

"Pulin" should be "kulin"