Touch me and I am yours [to protect] for life!

[Guest guest]

> And also I want to ask you to explain me the following:

Here is a question from SB.

 

> in Vedic times, acoording to books, there was a custom that if the

> girl was touched by a young man for some reasons, then he had to

> marry her. Ex.: Yayati, the son of Nahusha and Devayani, and the

> daughter of asuras teacher Umanasa. "My hand, o sun of Nahusha, was

> never touched by a man, you was the first, then I and two thousand

> slaves and Sharmishtha belong to you. Be my husband."

 

This was her free will. She wanted to marry him and the fact that she was

accepting his hand meant that she would be his wife. The idea was that

women were so well protected that what to speak of having sex before

marriage or kissing they wouldn't even touch a man prior to their marriage.

The first man they would touch would be their husband. That doesn't mean

that if a man just touched a woman she had to marry him. Devayani was a

virgin and she was pointing this fact out. She was expressing her desire to

be married so if the King were to touch her then he should be responsible

enought to marry her and protect her for life.

 

Now in this modern age this culture is missing for the most part. Still

women who are virgins before marriage are valued and respected. It is the

religious norm recommended by all scriptures. Men want easy women so have

exploited the women who foolishly have fallen into their trap thinking they

are now liberated when actually they have been cheated. Men being fickle by

nature often once they have enjoyed a woman want to go on to other women.

Unless a man is willing to commit to a lasting and true relationship then

why should a woman give up her chastity and her religious principles.

Moreover if she is pregnant without a husband then it is a bigger problem

for her and society. So all these things were avoided when chastity was

being observed in Society during the vedic period. In Krishna consciousness

Srila Prabhupada wanted to establish the basic principles of this system to

whatever extent possible in the present fallen age so that people could be

peaceful and happy in their lives and progress steadily Back to Godhead.