Hare Krsna
Chastity or faithfulness to the husband is the most important principle for woman just as worship of the Supreme Lord is the most important principle for men according to the Srimad Bhagavatam. Love of Godhead is a truly transcendental state for both but we are talking about marriage and how the society is gliding towards hell in general.
A woman may seek a man outside the marriage because her husband may not be good looking, rich or intelligent. What is the fate of such a woman?
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Hare Krsna
A woman may seek a man outside the marriage because her husband may not be good looking, rich or intelligent. What is the fate of such a woman?
duḥśīlo durbhago vṛddho
jaḍo rogy adhano ’pi vā
patiḥ strībhir na hātavyo
lokepsubhir apātakī
Women who desire a good destination in the next life should never abandon a husband who has not fallen from his religious standards, even if he is obnoxious, unfortunate, old, unintelligent, sickly or poor.(SB 10.29.25)
The above is spoken by Sri Krsna Himself. We can easily conclude that the destination of women who abandon their husband due to material reasons is not good in general. Exact destination may be given in garuda Purana
Hare Krsna
Hare Krsna Bharat Prabhu
Thank you for catching the spirit of the question. You have quoted from Srimad Bhagavatam that the husband should not be fallen from his religious standards. However, it is rare to see a person these days who has not fallen from his religious standards in one way or the other. Does this mean that women are free to discard such a husband and seek solace from other men outside marriage bonds?
Hari Bol
Hare Krsna
Does this mean that women are free to discard such a husband ?
If it is question of "freedom of women" then legally speaking , in general the answer is Yes, they are free to discard their Husband.
But, then the question as you rightly pointed out is, what will be the destination of such women. Lord Sri Krsna says - Not good.
Note, Sri Krsna says a husband with bad character or dushilo is not to be abandoned as per Sri Krsna.
It is true that it is hard to find a man who is highly elevated and not fallen. But in most cases, the woman who married a fallen man, already know about the condition about the man as not elevated. If the woman is really expecting a highly transcendental person, who is not fallen, then it is their own responsibility to find such a person and marry such a person.
If a woman marries a not elevated person & after marriage divorces such a husband, saying he is fallen, then their destination will not be good.
The statement by Sri Krsna is most applicable if a husband falls down after the marriage & which was beyond control of the wife. Example would be Ajamila abandoning his chaste religious wife & parents. Then it maybe in the interest of wife to abandaon husband in the interest of her own consicousness & not in the interest of her material wants. I find no example of a woman in puranas who has abandoned her fallen husband and elevated her consciousness.
On the other side, there are many exmaples of women not abandoning their husband despite shortcomings & still being considered exemplary.
1. Kayadhu was wife of Hiranyakashipu, the demon who tried killing his own innocent son. Kayadhu did not abandon her husband
2. Mandodari was wife of Ravana, the demon who abducted mother Sita & who violated many women. Mandodari did not abandon her husband
3. Yudishtir Maharaj made a mistake in staking Draupadi in gambling match. Draupadi was most affected in the worst possible way due to that mistake. She at any point in time could have gone back to her father King Drupada instead of staying with her husbands in forest. She did not abandaon her husbands. Queens of Dwarka learn lessons of chastity from Draupadi.
To summarise the above, it is a rare scenario that a woman can abandon the husband due to husband's fallen nature.
If a woman as accepted the husband despite his shortcoming, then it is responsibility of wife to serve the husband dutifully. despite the shortcomings Sri Krsna mentions.
But why are we speaking of these rare scenarios. Majorty of marital separations are not based on spiritual considerations. And that is because majority of marriages are not based on spiritual considerations.
seek solace from other men outside marriage bonds?
It leads to very severe hellish destinations, lower forms, ghastly punishments etc
yas tv iha vā agamyāṁ striyam agamyaṁ vā puruṣaṁ yoṣid abhigacchati tāv amutra kaśayā tāḍayantas tigmayā sūrmyā lohamayyā puruṣam āliṅgayanti striyaṁ ca puruṣa-rūpayā sūrmyā.
A man or woman who indulges in sexual intercourse with an unworthy member of the opposite sex is punished after death by the assistants of Yamarāja in the hell known as Taptasūrmi. There such men and women are beaten with whips. The man is forced to embrace a red-hot iron form of a woman, and the woman is forced to embrace a similar form of a man. Such is the punishment for illicit sex. SB 5.26.20
Hare Krsna
Hare Krsna Bharat Prabhu
That sounds fair enough. I'll like to modify my question, instead of the word free I would like to use the word fit.
Are women fit to discard a husband who has fallen from religious standards?
Hari Bol
Hare Krsna
Are women fit to discard a husband who has fallen from religious standards?
There are general principles & then there are specific details.
The general principle is chastity will result in good desitnation. Opposite of chastity will give opposite destination.
The decision for woman need not be focussed on discard or not. The decision for woman be focussed on whether they be chaste or unchaste. It is not very difficult to differentiate the two.
Hare Krsna