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evam—thus; susrusitah—being served; tata—O dear one; bhagavan—the powerful; kasyapah—Kasyapa; striya—by the woman; prahasya—smiling; parama-pritah—being very pleased; ditim—to Diti; aha—said; abhinandya—approving; ca—also.

O my dear one, the most powerful sage Kasyapa, being extremely pleased by the mild behavior of his wife Diti, smiled and spoke to her as follows.

SB6.18.32

TEXT 32

sri-kasyapa uvaca

varam varaya vamoru

pritas te ’ham anindite

striya bhartari suprite

kah kama iha cagamah

SYNONYMS

sri-kasyapah uvaca—Kasyapa Muni said; varam—benediction; varaya—ask; vamoru—O beautiful woman; pritah—pleased; te—with you; aham—I; anindite—O irreproachable lady; striyah—for the woman; bhartari—when the husband; su-prite—pleased; kah—what; kamah—desire; iha—here; ca—and; agamah—difficult to obtain.

TRANSLATION

Kasyapa Muni said: O beautiful woman, O irreproachable lady, since I am very much pleased by your behavior, you may ask me for any benediction you want. If a husband is pleased, what desires are difficult for his wife to obtain, either in this world or in the next?

SB6.18.33-34

TEXTS 33–34

patir eva hi narinam

daivatam paramam smrtam

manasah sarva-bhutanam

vasudevah sriyah patih

sa eva devata-lingair

nama-rupa-vikalpitaih

ijyate bhagavan pumbhih

stribhis ca pati-rupa-dhrk

SYNONYMS

patih—the husband; eva—indeed; hi—certainly; narinam—of women; daivatam—demigod; paramam—supreme; smrtam—is considered; manasah—situated in the heart; sarva-bhutanam—of all living entities; vasudevah—Vasudeva; sriyah—of the goddess of fortune; patih—the husband; sah—He; eva—certainly; devata-lingaih—by the forms of the demigods; nama—names; rupa—forms; vikalpitaih—conceived; ijyate—is worshiped; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; pumbhih—by men; stribhih—by women; ca—also; pati-rupa-dhrk—in the form of the husband.

TRANSLATION

A husband is the supreme demigod for a woman. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Vasudeva, the husband of the goddess of fortune, is situated in everyone’s heart and is worshiped through the various names and forms of the demigods by fruitive workers. Similarly, a husband represents the Lord as the object of worship for a woman.

PURPORT

The Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (9.23):

ye ’py anya-devata-bhakta
yajante sraddhayanvitah
te ’pi mam eva kaunteya
yajanty avidhi-purvakam

“Whatever a man may sacrifice to other gods, O son of Kunti, is really meant for Me alone, but it is offered without true understanding.” The demigods are various assistants who act like the hands and legs of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who is not in direct touch with the Supreme Lord and cannot conceive of the exalted position of the Lord is sometimes advised to worship the demigods as various parts of the Lord. If women, who are usually very much attached to their husbands, worship their husbands as representatives of Vasudeva, the women benefit, just as Ajamila benefited by calling for Narayana, his son. Ajamila was concerned with his son, but because of his attachment to the name of Narayana, he attained salvation simply by chanting that name. In India a husband is still called pati-guru, the husband spiritual master. If husband and wife are attached to one another for advancement in Krsna consciousness, their relationship of cooperation is very effective for such advancement. Although the names of Indra and Agni are sometimes uttered in the Vedic mantras (indraya svaha, agnaye svaha), the Vedic sacrifices are actually performed for the satisfaction of Lord Visnu. As long as one is very much attached to material sense gratification, the worship of the demigods or the worship of one’s husband is recommended.

SB6.18.35

TEXT 35

tasmat pati-vrata naryah

sreyas-kamah sumadhyame

yajante ’nanya-bhavena

patim atmanam isvaram

tasmat—therefore; pati-vratah—devoted to the husband; naryah—women; sreyah-kamah—conscientious; su-madhyame—O thin-waisted woman; yajante—worship; ananya-bhavena—with devotion; patim—the husband; atmanam—the Supersoul; isvaram—representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

My dear wife, whose body is so beautiful, your waist being thin, a conscientious wife should be chaste and should abide by the orders of her husband. She should very devoutly worship her husband as a representative of Vasudeva.

SB6.18.36

TEXT 36

so ’ham tvayarcito bhadre

idrg-bhavena bhaktitah

tam te sampadaye kamam

asatinam sudurlabham

SYNONYMS

sah—such a person; aham—I; tvaya—by you; arcitah—worshiped; bhadre—O gentle woman; idrk-bhavena—in such a way; bhaktitah—with devotion; tam—that; te—your; sampadaye—shall fulfill; kamam—desire; asatinam—for unchaste women; su-durlabham—not obtainable.

TRANSLATION

My dear gentle wife, because you have worshiped me with great devotion, considering me a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I shall reward you by fulfilling your desires, which are unobtainable for an unchaste wife.

SB6.18.37

TEXT 37

ditir uvaca

varado yadi me brahman

putram indra-hanam vrne

amrtyum mrta-putraham

yena me ghatitau sutau

SYNONYMS

ditih uvaca—Diti said; vara-dah—the giver of benedictions; yadi—if; me—to me; brahman—O great soul; putram—a son; indra-hanam—who can kill Indra; vrne—I am asking for; amrtyum—immortal; mrta-putra—whose sons are dead; aham—I; yena—by whom; me—my; ghatitau—were caused to be killed; sutau—two sons.

TRANSLATION

Diti replied: O my husband, O great soul, I have now lost my sons. If you want to give me a benediction, I ask you for an immortal son who can kill Indra. I pray for this because Indra, with the help of Visnu, has killed my two sons Hiranyaksa and Hiranyakasipu.

PURPORT

The word indra-hanam means “one who can kill Indra,” but it also means “one who follows Indra.” The word amrtyum refers to the demigods, who do not die like ordinary human beings because they have extremely long durations of life. For example, the duration of Lord Brahma’s life is stated in Bhagavad-gita: sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmano viduh [Bg. 8.17]. Even the duration of one day, or twelve hours, of Brahma is 4,300,000 years multiplied by one thousand. Thus the duration of his life is inconceivable for an ordinary human being. The demigods are therefore sometimes called amara, which means “one who has no death.” In this material world, however, everyone has to die. Therefore the word amrtyum indicates that Diti wanted a son who would be equal in status to the demigods.

SB6.18.38

TEXT 38

nisamya tad-vaco vipro

vimanah paryatapyata

aho adharmah sumahan

adya me samupasthitah

nisamya—hearing; tat-vacah—her words; viprah—the brahmana; vimanah—aggrieved; paryatapyata—lamented; aho—alas; adharmah—impiety; su-mahan—very great; adya—today; me—upon me; samupasthitah—has come.

Upon hearing Diti’s request, Kasyapa Muni was very much aggrieved. “Alas,” he lamented, “now I face the danger of the impious act of killing Indra.”

Although Kasyapa Muni was eager to fulfill the desire of his wife Diti, when he heard that she wanted a son to kill Indra his jubilation was immediately reduced to nothing because he was averse to the idea.

patisye narake dhruvam

aho—alas; artha-indriya-aramah—too attached to material enjoyment; yosit-mayya—in the form of a woman; iha—here; mayaya—by the illusory energy; grhita-cetah—my mind being captivated; krpanah—wretched; patisye—I shall fall; narake—to hell; dhruvam—surely.

Kasyapa Muni thought: Alas, I have now become too attached to material enjoyment. Taking advantage of this, my mind has been attracted by the illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the form of a woman [my wife]. Therefore I am surely a wretched person who will glide down toward hell.

SB6.18.40

TEXT 40

ko ’tikramo ’nuvartantyah

svabhavam iha yositah

dhin mam batabudham svarthe

yad aham tv ajitendriyah

SYNONYMS

kah—what; atikramah—offense; anuvartantyah—following; sva-bhavam—her nature; iha—here; yositah—of the woman; dhik—condemnation; mam—unto me; bata—alas; abudham—not conversant; sva-arthe—in what is good for me; yat—because; aham—I; tu—indeed; ajita-indriyah—unable to control my senses.

TRANSLATION

This woman, my wife, has adopted a means that follows her nature, and therefore she is not to be blamed. But I am a man. Therefore, all condemnation upon me! I am not at all conversant with what is good for me, since I could not control my senses.

PURPORT

The natural instinct of a woman is to enjoy the material world. She induces her husband to enjoy this world by satisfying his tongue, belly and genitals, which are called jihva, udara and upastha. A woman is expert in cooking palatable dishes so that she can easily satisfy her husband in eating. When one eats nicely, his belly is satisfied, and as soon as the belly is satisfied the genitals become strong. Especially when a man is accustomed to eating meat and drinking wine and similar passionate things, he certainly becomes sexually inclined. It should be understood that sexual inclinations are meant not for spiritual progress but for gliding down to hell. Thus Kasyapa Muni considered his situation and lamented. In other words, to be a householder is very risky unless one is trained and the wife is a follower of her husband. A husband should be trained at the very beginning of his life. Kaumara acaret prajno dharman bhagavatan iha (Bhag. 7.6.1). During the time of brahmacarya, or student life, a brahmacari should be taught to be expert in bhagavata-dharma, devotional service. Then when he marries, if his wife is faithful to her husband and follows him in such life, the relationship between husband and wife is very desirable. However, a relationship between husband and wife without spiritual consciousness but strictly for sense gratification is not at all good. It is said in Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.2.3) that especially in this age, Kali-yuga, dam-patye ’bhirucir hetuh: the relationship between husband and wife will be based on sexual power. Therefore householder life in this Kali-yuga is extremely dangerous unless both the wife and husband take to Krsna consciousness.

SB6.18.41

TEXT 41

sarat-padmotsavam vaktram

vacas ca sravanamrtam

hrdayam ksura-dharabham

strinam ko veda cestitam

sarat—in the autumn; padma—a lotus flower; utsavam—blossoming; vaktram—face; vacah—words; ca—and; sravana—to the ear; amrtam—giving pleasure; hrdayam—heart; ksura-dhara—the blade of a razor; abham—like; strinam—of women; kah—who; veda—knows; cestitam—the dealings.

A woman’s face is as attractive and beautiful as a blossoming lotus flower during autumn. Her words are very sweet, and they give pleasure to the ear, but if we study a woman’s heart, we can understand it to be extremely sharp, like the blade of a razor. In these circumstances, who could understand the dealings of a woman?

Woman is now depicted very well from the materialistic point of view by Kasyapa Muni. Women are generally known as the fair sex, and especially in youth, at the age of sixteen or seventeen, women are very attractive to men. Therefore a woman’s face is compared to a blooming lotus flower in autumn. Just as a lotus is extremely beautiful in autumn, a woman at the threshold of youthful beauty is extremely attractive. In Sanskrit a woman’s voice is called nari-svara because women generally sing and their singing is very attractive. At the present moment, cinema artists, especially female singers, are especially welcome. Some of them earn fabulous amounts of money simply by singing. Therefore, as taught by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, a woman’s singing is dangerous because it can make a sannyasi fall a victim to the woman. Sannyasa means giving up the company of women, but if a sannyasi hears the voice of a woman and sees her beautiful face, he certainly becomes attracted and is sure to fall down. There have been many examples. Even the great sage Visvamitra fell a victim to Menaka. Therefore a person desiring to advance in spiritual consciousness must be especially careful not to see a woman’s face or hear a woman’s voice. To see a woman’s face and appreciate its beauty or to hear a woman’s voice and appreciate her singing as very nice is a subtle falldown for a brahmacari or sannyasi. Thus the description of a woman’s features by Kasyapa Muni is very instructive.

When a woman’s bodily features are attractive, when her face is beautiful and when her voice is sweet, she is naturally a trap for a man. The sastras advise that when such a woman comes to serve a man, she should be considered to be like a dark well covered by grass. In the fields there are many such wells, and a man who does not know about them drops through the grass and falls down. Thus there are many such instructions. Since the attraction of the material world is based on attraction for women, Kasyapa Muni thought, “Under the circumstances, who can understand the heart of a woman?” Canakya Pandita has also advised, visvaso naiva kartavyah strisu raja-kulesu ca: “There are two persons one should not trust—a politician and a woman.” These, of course, are authoritative sastric injunctions, and we should therefore be very careful in our dealings with women.

Sometimes our Krsna consciousness movement is criticized for mingling men and women, but Krsna consciousness is meant for anyone. Whether one is a man or woman does not matter. Lord Krsna personally says, striyo vaisyas tatha sudras te ’pi yanti param gatim: whether one is a woman, sudra or vaisya, not to speak of being a brahmana or ksatriya, everyone is fit to return home, back to Godhead, if he strictly follows the instructions of the spiritual master and sastra. We therefore request all the members of the Krsna consciousness movement—both men and women—not to be attracted by bodily features but only to be attracted by Krsna. Then everything will be all right. Otherwise there will be danger.

SB6.18.42

TEXT 42

na hi kascit priyah strinam

anjasa svasisatmanam

patim putram bhrataram va

ghnanty arthe ghatayanti ca

na—not; hi—certainly; kascit—anyone; priyah—dear; strinam—to women; anjasa—actually; sva-asisa—for their own interests; atmanam—most dear; patim—husband; putram—son; bhrataram—brother; va—or; ghnanti—they kill; arthe—for their own interests; ghatayanti—cause to be killed; ca—also.

To satisfy their own interests, women deal with men as if the men were most dear to them, but no one is actually dear to them. Women are supposed to be very saintly, but for their own interests they can kill even their husbands, sons or brothers, or cause them to be killed by others.

A woman’s nature has been particularly well studied by Kasyapa Muni. Women are self-interested by nature, and therefore they should be protected by all means so that their natural inclination to be too self-interested will not be manifested. Women need to be protected by men. A woman should be cared for by her father in her childhood, by her husband in her youth and by her grown sons in her old age. This is the injunction of Manu, who says that a woman should not be given independence at any stage. Women must be cared for so that they will not be free to manifest their natural tendency for gross selfishness. There have been many cases, even in the present day, in which women have killed their husbands to take advantage of their insurance policies. This is not a criticism of women but a practical study of their nature. Such natural instincts of a woman or a man are manifested only in the bodily conception of life. When either a man or a woman is advanced in spiritual consciousness, the bodily conception of life practically vanishes. We should see all women as spiritual units (aham brahmasmi), whose only duty is to satisfy Krsna. Then the influences of the different modes of material nature, which result from one’s possessing a material body, will not act.

The Krsna consciousness movement is so beneficial that it can very easily counteract the contamination of material nature, which results from one’s possessing a material body. Bhagavad-gita therefore teaches, in the very beginning, that whether one is a man or a woman, one must know that he or she is not the body but a spiritual soul. Everyone should be interested in the activities of the spirit soul, not the body. As long as one is activated by the bodily conception of life, there is always the danger of being misled, whether one is a man or a woman. The soul is sometimes described as purusa because whether one is dressed as a man or a woman, one is inclined to enjoy this material world. One who has this spirit of enjoyment is described as purusa. Whether one is a man or a woman, he is not interested in serving others; everyone is interested in satisfying his or her own senses. Krsna consciousness, however, provides first-class training for a man or a woman. A man should be trained to be a first-class devotee of Lord Krsna, and a woman should be trained to be a very chaste follower of her husband. That will make the lives of both of them happy.

SB6.18.43

TEXT 43

pratisrutam dadamiti

vacas tan na mrsa bhavet

vadham narhati cendro ’pi

tatredam upakalpate

pratisrutam—promised; dadami—I shall give; iti—thus; vacah—statement; tat—that; na—not; mrsa—false; bhavet—can be; vadham—killing; na—not; arhati—is suitable; ca—and; indrah—Indra; api—also; tatra—in that connection; idam—this; upakalpate—is suitable.

I promised to give her a benediction, and this promise cannot be violated, but Indra does not deserve to be killed. In these circumstances, the solution I have is quite suitable.

Kasyapa Muni concluded, “Diti is eager to have a son who can kill Indra, since she is a woman, after all, and is not very intelligent. I shall train her in such a way that instead of always thinking of how to kill Indra, she will become a Vaisnava, a devotee of Krsna. If she agrees to follow the rules and regulations of the Vaisnava principles, the unclean core of her heart will certainly be cleansed.” Ceto-darpana-marjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12]. This is the process of devotional service. Anyone can be purified by following the principles of devotional service in Krsna consciousness, for Krsna consciousness is so powerful that it can purify even the dirtiest class of men and transform them into the topmost Vaisnavas. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement aims at this purpose. Narottama dasa Thakura says:

vrajendra-nandana yei, saci-suta haila sei,
balarama ha-ila nitai
dina-hina yata chila, hari-name uddharila,
ta’ra saksi jagai-madhai

The appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in this Kali-yuga is especially meant to deliver the fallen souls, who are always planning something for material enjoyment. He gave the people of this age the advantage of being able to chant the Hare Krsna mantra and thus become fully pure, free from all material contamination. Once one becomes a pure Vaisnava, he transcends all material conceptions of life. Thus Kasyapa Muni tried to transform his wife into a Vaisnavi so that she might give up the idea of killing Indra. He wanted both her and her sons to be purified so that they would be fit to become pure Vaisnavas. Of course, sometimes a practitioner deviates from the Vaisnava principles, and there is a chance that he may fall down, but Kasyapa Muni thought that even if one falls while practicing the Vaisnava principles, he is still not a loser. Even a fallen Vaisnava is eligible for better results, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gita. Svalpam apy asya dharmasya trayate mahato bhayat: even practicing the Vaisnava principles to a small extent can save one from the greatest danger of material existence. Thus Kasyapa Muni planned to instruct his wife Diti to become a Vaisnava because he wanted to save the life of Indra.

SB6.18.44

TEXT 44

iti sancintya bhagavan

maricah kurunandana

uvaca kincit kupita

atmanam ca vigarhayan

iti—thus; sancintya—thinking; bhagavan—the powerful; maricah—Kasyapa Muni; kuru-nandana—O descendant of Kuru; uvaca—spoke; kincit—somewhat; kupitah—angry; atmanam—himself; ca—and; vigarhayan—condemning.

Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: Kasyapa Muni, thinking in this way, became somewhat angry. Condemning himself, O Maharaja Pariksit, descendant of Kuru, he spoke to Diti as follows.

SB6.18.45

TEXT 45

sri-kasyapa uvaca

putras te bhavita bhadre

indra-hadeva-bandhavah

samvatsaram vratam idam

yady anjo dharayisyasi

SYNONYMS

sri-kasyapah uvaca—Kasyapa Muni said; putrah—son; te—your; bhavita—will be; bhadre—O gentle woman; indra-ha—killer of Indra, or follower of Indra; adeva-bandhavah—friend of the demons (or deva-bandhavah—friend of the demigods); samvatsaram—for a year; vratam—vow; idam—this; yadi—if; anjah—properly; dharayisyasi—you will execute.

TRANSLATION

Kasyapa Muni said: My dear gentle wife, if you follow my instructions regarding this vow for at least one year, you will surely get a son who will be able to kill Indra. However, if you deviate from this vow of following the Vaisnava principles, you will get a son who will be favorable to Indra.

PURPORT

The word indra-ha refers to an asura who is always eager to kill Indra. An enemy of Indra is naturally a friend to the asuras, but the word indra-ha also refers to one who follows Indra or who is obedient to him. When one becomes a devotee of Indra, he is certainly a friend to the demigods. Thus the words indra-hadeva-bandhavah are equivocal, for they say, “Your son will kill Indra, but he will be very friendly to the demigods.” If a person actually became a friend of the demigods, he certainly would not be able to kill Indra.

SB6.18.46

TEXT 46

ditir uvaca

dharayisye vratam brahman

bruhi karyani yani me

yani ceha nisiddhani

na vratam ghnanti yany uta