u“Vaishampaayana said, ‘On hearing these words of the
Brahmana, his wife said, ‘O Brahmana, you should not grieve like an ordinary
man. Nor is this the time for mourning. You have learning; you know that all
men are sure to die; none should grieve for that which is inevitable. Wife,
son, and daughter, all these are sought for one's own self. As you are
possessed of a good understanding, you kill your sorrows. I will myself go
there. This indeed, is the highest and the eternal duty
of a woman – that by sacrificing her life she should seek the good of her
husband. Such an act done by me will make you happy, and bring me fame
in this world and eternal happiness hereafter. This, indeed, is the highest Dharma
that I tell you, and you may, by this, acquire both Dharma and happiness.
“The object for which one desires a wife has already
been achieved by you through me. I have borne you a daughter and a son and thus
been freed from the debt I had owed you. You are well able to support and
cherish the children, but I however, can never support and cherish them like you.
You are my life, wealth, and lord; without you, how shall these children of
tender years -- how also shall I myself, exist? Widowed and masterless, with
two children depending on me, how shall I, without you, keep alive the pair,
myself leading an honest life? If the daughter of yours is requested (in marriage) by persons
dishonourable and vain and unworthy of contracting an alliance with you, how
shall I be able to protect the girl? Indeed, as birds
seek with interest for meat that has been thrown away on the ground, so do men approach
a woman that has lost her husband. O best of Brahmanas, approached by
wicked men, I may waver (from the path of Dharma) and may not be able to continue in the path that is desired by all
honest men.
“How shall I be able to place this sole daughter of your
house -- this innocent girl -- in the way along which her ancestors have always
walked? How shall I then be able to communicate to this child every desirable
accomplishment to make him Dharmic as yourself, in that season of want when I
shall become masterless? Overpowering myself who shall be masterless, unworthy
persons will demand (the hand of) this daughter of yours, like Shudras
desiring to hear the Vedas. If I do not give this girl possessing your blood
and qualities upon them, they may even take her away by force, like crows
carrying away the yagna butter. Seeing your son become not like you, and your
daughter placed under the control of some unworthy persons, I shall be disliked
in the world by persons that are dishonourable, and I will certainly die. These
children also, without me and you, their father, will, I doubt not, perish like
fish when the water dries up. There is no doubt that without you the three will
perish: therefore it is your duty to sacrifice me.
“O Brahmana, persons knowledgeable with Dharma have
said that for women that have borne children, to die before their lord’s (husband) is an act of the
highest merit. I am ready to abandon this son and this daughter, these my
relations, and life itself, for you. For a woman to be
ever employed in doing agreeable work to her lord (husband) is a higher
duty than yagna, Tapas, vows (Vrata in Sanskrit), and charities of every description. The act, therefore, which I intend to perform is in agreement with the
highest Dharma and is for your good and that of your race. The wise have declared that children, relatives, wife and all
things held dear are cherished for the purpose of liberating one's self from
danger and distress. One must guard one's wealth for freeing one's self from
danger, and it is by his wealth that he should cherish and protect his wife.
But he must protect his own self both by (means
of) his wife and his wealth. The learned
have stated the truth that one's wife, son, wealth, and house, are acquired
with the intention of providing against accidents, foreseen or unforeseen. The wise have also said that all one's
relations weighed against one's own self would not be equal to one's self.
Therefore, respected sir, protect your own self by abandoning me.
“O, give me leave to sacrifice myself, and you cherish
my children. Those that are knowledgeable with the Dharma
have, in their treatises, said, that women should never be slaughtered
and that Rakshasas are not ignorant of the rules of Dharma. Therefore, while it
is certain that the Rakshasa will kill a man, it is doubtful whether he will
kill a woman. It is your duty, therefore, being in agreement with the rules of Dharma,
to place me before the Rakshasa. I have enjoyed much happiness, have obtained
much that is agreeable to me, and have also acquired great merits of Dharma. I
have also obtained from you children that are so dear to me. Therefore, I do
not grieve to die. I have borne you children and have also grown old; I am ever
desirous of doing good to you; remembering all these I have come to this
resolution. O respected sir, abandoning me you may obtain another wife. By her,
you may again acquire merits of Dharma. There is no sin in this. For a man
polygamy is an act of merit, but for a woman it is very sinful to go to herself
to a second husband after the first. Considering all this, and remembering too
that sacrifice of your own self is blamable, O, liberate today without loss of
time your own self, your race, and these your children (by abandoning me).’
“Vaishampaayana
continued, ‘O Bharata, thus addressed by her the Brahmana embraced her, and
they both began to weep in silence, pained with grief.’”
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