Text 24
tat te nirīkṣyo na pitāpi deha-kṛd
dakṣo mama dviṭ tad-anuvratāś ca ye
yo viśvasṛg-yajña-gataṁ varoru mām
anāgasaṁ durvacasākarot tiraḥ
tat — therefore; te — your; nirīkṣyaḥ — to be seen; na — not; pitā — your father; api — although; deha-kṛt — the giver of your body; dakṣaḥ — Dakṣa; mama — my; dviṭ — envious; tat-anuvratāḥ — his (Dakṣa’s) followers; ca — also; ye — who; yaḥ — who (Dakṣa); viśva-sṛk — of the Viśvasṛks; yajña-gatam — being present at the sacrifice; vara-ūru — O Satī; mām — me; anāgasam — being innocent; durvacasā — with cruel words; akarot tiraḥ — has insulted.
Therefore you should not see your father, although he is the giver of your body, because he and his followers are envious of me. Because of his envy, O most worshipful one, he has insulted me with cruel words although I am innocent.
For a woman, both the husband and the father are equally worshipable. The husband is the protector of a woman during her youthful life, whereas the father is her protector during her childhood. Thus both are worshipable, but especially the father because he is the giver of the body. Lord Śiva reminded Satī, “Your father is undoubtedly worshipable, even more than I am, but take care, for although he is the giver of your body he may also be the taker of your body, because when you see your father he may insult you because of your association with me. An insult from a relative is worse than death, especially when one is well situated.”