Text 9
tasmin bhaginyo mama bhartṛbhiḥ svakair
dhruvaṁ gamiṣyanti suhṛd-didṛkṣavaḥ
ahaṁ ca tasmin bhavatābhikāmaye
sahopanītaṁ paribarham arhitum
tasmin — in that sacrifice; bhaginyaḥ — sisters; mama — my; bhartṛbhiḥ — with their husbands; svakaiḥ — their own; dhruvam — surely; gamiṣyanti — will go; suhṛt-didṛkṣavaḥ — desiring to meet the relatives; aham — I; ca — and; tasmin — in that assembly; bhavatā — with you (Lord Śiva); abhikāmaye — I desire; saha — with; upanītam — given; paribarham — ornaments of decoration; arhitum — to accept.
I think that all my sisters must have gone to this great sacrificial ceremony with their husbands just to see their relatives. I also desire to decorate myself with the ornaments given to me by my father and go there with you to participate in that assembly.
It is a woman’s nature to want to decorate herself with ornaments and nice dresses and accompany her husband to social functions, meet friends and relatives, and enjoy life in that way. This propensity is not unusual, for woman is the basic principle of material enjoyment. Therefore in Sanskrit the word for woman is strī, which means “one who expands the field of material enjoyment.” In the material world there is an attraction between woman and man. This is the arrangement of conditional life. A woman attracts a man, and in that way the scope of material activities, involving house, wealth, children and friendship, increases, and thus instead of decreasing one’s material demands, one becomes entangled in material enjoyment. Lord Śiva, however, is different; therefore his name is Śiva. He is not at all attracted by material enjoyment, although his wife, Satī, was the daughter of a very great leader and was given to him by the request of Brahmā. Lord Śiva was reluctant, but Satī, as a woman, the daughter of a king, wanted enjoyment. She wanted to go to her father’s house, just as her other sisters might have done, and meet them and enjoy social life. Here, she specifically indicated that she would decorate herself with the ornaments given by her father. She did not say that she would decorate herself with the ornaments given by her husband because her husband was callous about all such matters. He did not know how to decorate his wife and take part in social life because he was always in ecstasy with thoughts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. According to the Vedic system, a daughter is given a sufficient dowry at the time of her marriage, and therefore Satī was also given a dowry by her father, and ornaments were included. It is also the custom that the husband gives some ornaments, but here it is particularly mentioned that her husband, being materially almost nothing, could not do so; therefore she wanted to decorate herself with the ornaments given by her father. It was fortunate for Satī that Lord Śiva did not take the ornaments from his wife and spend them for gāñjā, because those who imitate Lord Śiva in smoking gāñjā exploit everything from household affairs; they take all of their wives’ property and spend on smoking, intoxication and similar other activities.