Text 3
tato viniḥśvasya satī vihāya taṁ
śokena roṣeṇa ca dūyatā hṛdā
pitror agāt straiṇa-vimūḍha-dhīr gṛhān
premṇātmano yo ’rdham adāt satāṁ priyaḥ
tataḥ — then; viniḥśvasya — breathing very heavily; satī — Satī; vihāya — leaving; tam — him (Lord Śiva); śokena — by bereavement; roṣeṇa — by anger; ca — and; dūyatā — afflicted; hṛdā — with the heart; pitroḥ — of her father; agāt — she went; straiṇa — by her womanly nature; vimūḍha — deluded; dhīḥ — intelligence; gṛhān — to the house; premṇā — due to affection; ātmanaḥ — of his body; yaḥ — who; ardham — half; adāt — gave; satām — to the saintly; priyaḥ — dear.
Thereafter Satī left her husband, Lord Śiva, who had given her half his body due to affection. Breathing very heavily because of anger and bereavement, she went to the house of her father. This less intelligent act was due to her being a weak woman.
According to the Vedic conception of family life, the husband gives half his body to his wife, and the wife gives half of her body to her husband. In other words, a husband without a wife or a wife without a husband is incomplete. Vedic marital relationship existed between Lord Śiva and Satī, but sometimes, due to weakness, a woman becomes very much attracted by the members of her father’s house, and this happened to Satī. In this verse it is specifically mentioned that she wanted to leave such a great husband as Śiva because of her womanly weakness. In other words, womanly weakness exists even in the relationship between husband and wife. Generally, separation between husband and wife is due to womanly behavior; divorce takes place due to womanly weakness. The best course for a woman is to abide by the orders of her husband. That makes family life very peaceful. Sometimes there may be misunderstandings between husband and wife, as found even in such an elevated family relationship as that of Satī and Lord Śiva, but a wife should not leave her husband’s protection because of such a misunderstanding. If she does so, it is understood to be due to her womanly weakness.