Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 9.24.34
Visarga· Brahmā's creationPṛthā’s Concern About Unmarried Motherhood
“The sun-god said: O beautiful Pṛthā, your meeting with the demigods cannot be fruitless. Therefore, let me place my seed in your womb so that you may bear a son. I shall arrange to keep your virginity intact, since you are still an unmarried girl.”
What the purport teaches
- The sun-god said that meeting the demigods could not be fruitless and proposed that Pṛthā bear a son.
- Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that Pṛthā hesitated because she was unmarried. In the Vedic civilization described here, bearing a child before marriage would prevent a girl from marrying.
- The sun-god arranged for the child to come from her ear, preserving her virginity; therefore the child was called Karṇa. The purport describes the marriage custom as akṣata-yoni, with virginity undisturbed.
Try this today
Write one sentence explaining Pṛthā’s concern and how the sun-god proposed to address it.
Ask yourself
How does the purport’s description of marriage customs help you understand Pṛthā’s hesitation?
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.