Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.23.2
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyServe With Intimacy and Respect
“O Vidura, Devahūti served her husband with intimacy and great respect, with control of the senses, with love and with sweet words.”
What the purport teaches
- Devahūti served with viśrambheṇa, intimacy, and gauraveṇa, great reverence. The purport identifies both as important in serving the husband or the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- Intimacy should not become familiarity that breeds contempt. Devahūti’s service combined closeness with respect and control of the senses.
- She desired her husband’s good and spoke sweet words. The purport emphasizes that kind speech at home comforts someone agitated by material contacts outside.
Try this today
In one conversation at home today, pause before replying and choose gentle, respectful words.
Ask yourself
How can I keep respect alive in my closest relationships?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.