Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 9.3.20
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyFaithfulness Beyond Youth and Beauty
“O unchaste girl, what is this that you have desired to do? You have cheated the most respectable husband, who is honored by everyone, for I see that because he was old, diseased and therefore unattractive, you have left his company to accept as your husband this young man, who appears to be a beggar from the street.”
What the purport teaches
- The King assumed that his daughter had abandoned her respected husband for a young man. On this assumption, he chastised her as unchaste.
- The purport explains that although Cyavana Muni was very old and diseased, the King expected his daughter to remain faithful to him.
- In the Vedic culture described here, a woman was expected to respectfully serve the husband given by her parents. Dislike of his age or appearance was not considered a reason to accept another man.
Try this today
Write one sentence explaining why the King expected faithfulness despite Cyavana Muni’s age and illness.
Ask yourself
How does this purport distinguish faithfulness from attraction to youth and beauty?
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.