Institutes of Vishnu — XXV.

XXV. | Internet Sacred Text ArchiveSacred Texts Hinduism Index Previous Next

# XXV.

1. 1.Now the duties of a woman (are as follows):

1. 1.To live in harmony with her husband;

1. 1.To show reverence (by embracing their feet and such-like attentions) to her mother-in-law, father-in-law, to Gurus (such as elders), to divinities, and to guests;

1. 1.To keep household articles (such as the winnowing basket and the rest) in good array;

1. 1.To maintain saving habits;

1. 1.To be careful with her (pestle and mortar and other) domestic utensils;

1. 1.Not to practise incantations with roots (or other kinds of witchcraft);

1. 1.To observe auspicious customs;

1. 1.Not to decorate herself with ornaments (or to partake of amusements) while her husband is absent from home;

1. 1.Not to resort to the houses of strangers (during the absence of her husband);

[XXV. 1-13. Colebrooke, Dig. IV, 2, XCII.--2. M. V, 154; Y. I, 77.--3. Y. I, 83.--4-6. M. V, 150; Y. I, 83.--9, 10. M. IX, 75; Y. I, 84.--12, 13. M. V, 148; IX, 3; Y. I, 85; Gaut. XVIII, 1.--14. M. V, 158; Colebrooke, Dig. IV, 3, CXXXIII.-15. M.V, 155.--17. M.V, 160. 15 is also found in the Mârkandeya-purâna XVI, 61, and, in a modified form, in other works. See Böhtlingk, Ind. Sprüche, 3686, 3679. 16 is also found, in a modified form, in Vriddhakânakhya's Proverbs XVII, 9; and 17 in Sârngadhara's Paddhati, Sadâkâra, 10. See Böhtlingk, Ind. Sprüche, 3900, 4948.

1. 1.'Strangers' means any other persons than her parents-in-law, her brother, maternal uncle, and other near relatives. (Nand.)]

1. 1.Not to stand near the doorway or by the windows (of her house);

1. 1.Not to act by herself in any matter;

1. 1.To remain subject, in her infancy, to her father; in her youth, to her husband; and in her old age, to her sons.

1. 1.After the death of her husband, to preserve her chastity, or to ascend the pile after him.

1. 1.No sacrifice, no penance, and no fasting is allowed to women apart from their husbands; to pay obedience to her lord is the only means for a woman to obtain bliss in heaven.

1. 1.A woman who keeps a fast or performs a penance in the lifetime of her lord, deprives her husband of his life, and will go to hell.

1. 1.A good wife, who perseveres in a chaste life after the death of her lord, will go to heaven like (perpetual) students, even though she has no son.

Next: XXVI.