TEXT 50
citim darumayim citva
tasyam patyuh kalevaram
adipya canumarane
vilapanti mano dadhe
SYNONYMS
citimfuneral pyre; daru-mayimmade with wood; citvahaving piled up; tasyamon that; patyuhof the husband; kalevarambody; adipyaafter igniting; caalso; anumaraneto die along with him; vilapantilamenting; manahher mind; dadhefixed.
TRANSLATION
She then prepared a blazing fire with firewood and placed the dead body of her husband upon it. When this was finished, she lamented severely and prepared herself to perish in the fire with her husband.
PURPORT
It is the long-standing tradition of the Vedic system that a faithful wife dies along with her husband. This is called saha-marana. In India this system was prevalent even to the date of British occupation. At that time, however, a wife who did not wish to die with her husband was sometimes forced to do so by her relatives. Formerly that was not the case. The wife used to enter the fire voluntarily. The British government stopped this practice, considering it inhuman. However, from the early history of India we find that when Maharaja Pandu died, he was survived by two wivesMadri and Kunti. The question was whether both should die or one should die. After the death of Maharaja Pandu, his wives settled that one should remain and the other should go. Madri would perish with her husband in the fire, and Kunti would remain to take charge of the five Pandava children. Even as late as 1936 we saw a devoted wife voluntarily enter the fire of her husband.
This indicates that a devotees wife must be prepared to act in such a way. Similarly, a devoted disciple of the spiritual master would rather die with the spiritual master than fail to execute the spiritual masters mission. As the Supreme Personality of Godhead comes down upon this earth to reestablish the principles of religion, so His representative, the spiritual master, also comes to reestablish religious principles. It is the duty of the disciples to take charge of the mission of the spiritual master and execute it properly. Otherwise the disciple should decide to die along with the spiritual master. In other words, to execute the will of the spiritual master, the disciple should be prepared to lay down his life and abandon all personal considerations.
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