What are the duties of a women in the grhastha asrama ???

September 17, 2003

Narada Rsi in Srimad Bhagavatam 7.11.25-29 explains the duties of a woman in the grhasta ashrama:

"To render service to the husband, to be always favorably disposed toward the husband, to be equally well disposed toward the husband's relatives and friends, and to follow the vows of the husband-these are the four principles to be followed by women described as chaste. A chaste woman must dress nicely and decorate herself with golden ornaments for the pleasure of her husband. Always wearing clean and attractive garments, she should sweep and clean the household with water and other liquids so that the entire house is always pure and clean. She should collect the household paraphernalia and keep the house always aromatic with incense and flowers and must be ready to execute the desires of her husband. Being modest and truthful, controlling her senses, and speaking in sweet words, a chaste woman should engage in the service of her husband with love, according to time and circumstances."

In verse 25 this is the word for word:

strinam ca pati-devanam

tac-chusrusanukulata

tad-bandhusv anuvrttis ca

nityam tad-vrata-dharanam

SYNONYMS

strinam-of women; ca-also; pati-devanam-who have accepted their husbands as worshipable; tat-susrusa-readiness to render service to her husband; anukulata-being favorably disposed towards her husband; tat-bandhusu-unto the friends and relatives of the husband; anuvrttih-being similarly disposed (to treat them well for the satisfaction of the husband); ca-and; nityam-regularly; tat-vrata-dharanam-accepting the vows of the husband or acting exactly as the husband acts.

And in the purport to verse 29 Srila Prabhupada writes:

In this regard, Srila Madhvacarya gives this opinion:

harir asmin sthita iti

strinam bhartari bhavana

sisyanam ca gurau nityam

sudranam brahmanadisu

bhrtyanam svamini tatha

hari-bhava udiritah

"A woman should think of her husband as the Supreme Lord. Similarly, a disciple should think of the spiritual master as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, a sudra should think of a brahmana as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and a servant should think of his master as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this way, all of them will automatically become devotees of the Lord. In other words, by thinking this way, all of them will become Krsna conscious."

Hence a chaste woman is more than one who has not slept with another man, but rather one who is a pati-devanam-who have accepted their husbands as worshipable and as good as God.

September 17, 2003

She must always be pleasant while he gets to remain a grouch, a rascal, wanting sex at night but illusion of purity during the day, etc., etc., etc., etc.

The duty of a married women in Krishna consciousness is to chant Hare Krishna and serve the SUPREME husband of all.

Men who haven't been in succesful grhasta marriage proven by lasting for an extended period of time, shouldn't post selective text.

stonehearted · September 17, 2003

And men who have made a habit of beating their wives should be challenged when they publish things meant to slander their wives.

The text at the head of this thread is excerpted from a WWW article asserting that a highly regarded woman devotee is not chaste because she didn't worship her husband as God. The article was published under a fictitious name, but I strongly suspect that the ex-husband wrote it. He's a wife-beater and a coward.

September 18, 2003

A woman can respect and worship her husband provided he really remains good to her as a good human first. Then automatically a good woman in turn would remain faithful and do service to her husband, because she is equally respected by her husband. This is the ultimate philosophy of Pathivritha tathvam. Unfortunately it became in such a way as supportive of male chauvnism which is not right by any means.

September 18, 2003

Pretty sick when a [b[devotee man wants to be worshiped as God. Wife beater makes more sense. Coward also makes sense. Slader can join the gang of making sense.

Good husbands are known by their qualities, not their bodies. Male gender is not a free pass, but some think it is.

Fortunately, some sane men know better and are sincere.