The Puranas ancient religious poems, are the Bible/Quran of the Hindus. Padmapuran is one of the important texts of the Hindus. It is one of the 18 Puranas. Padmapuran describes in detail a wife’s duty towards her husband, and it is thus translated as:
There is no other god on earth for a woman than her husband. The most excellent of all the good works that she can do is to seek to please him by manifesting perfect obedience to him. There in should lay her sole rule of life. Be her husband deformed, aged, infirm, offensive in his manners; let him be choleric, debauched, immoral, a drunkard, a gambler…
Let him frequent places of ill repute, live in open sin with other women, have no affection whatever for his home or let him rave like a lunatic, let him live without honor…Let him be blind, deaf, dumb or crippled… in a word, let his defects be what they may, a wife should always look upon him as her god, should lavish on him all her attention and care, paying no heed whatsoever to his character and giving him a cause whatsoever for displeasure.
A wife must eat only after her husband has had his fill. If the latter fasts, she will fast too; if he does not touch food, she will also not touch it; if he be in affliction, she shall be so too; if he be cheerful, she shall share his joy… she must, on the death of her husband, allow herself to be burnt alive on the same funeral pyre; then everybody will praise her virtue…
If he sings she must be in ecstasy; if he dances she must look at him with delight; if he speaks of the learned things she must listen to him with admiration. In his presence, indeed, she ought always be cheerful, and never show signs of sadness and discontent.
Let her carefully avoid creating domestic squabbles on the subject of her parents, or on account of another woman whom are husband may wish to keep, or on account of any unpleasant remark which may have been addressed to her. To leave the house for reasons such as these would expose her to public ridicule, and would give cause for much evil speaking. Let all her words and actions give public proof that she looks upon her husband as her gold. Honored by everybody, she shall thus enjoy the reputation of a faithful and virtuous spouse.
If her husband flies into passion, threatens her, abuses her grossly, even beats her unjustly, she shall answer him meekly, shall lay hold of his hands, kiss them, and beg his pardon, instead of uttering loud cries and running away from the house.
These are the very ideas that are ingrained in the blood of every Indian man & women for 10,000 years. Appearances are often defective. Though every Hindu look modern, he is obsessed with the great ideas of following the Vedas, Puranas & Upanishads. No amount of education and legislation can ever change this mind set. If Padmapuran – as roughly translated above is a part of this following, then even God cannot save the people of India. You may come up with 1000 explanations/legislations, but it cannot change the Puran. Remember please, I am only a mirror and my function is to reflect.
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional.
What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
