व्युष्टिर् एषा परा स्त्रीणां पूर्वं भर्तुः परा गतिः ॥
न तु ब्राह्मण पुत्राणां विषये परिवर्तितुम् ॥
परित्यक्तः सुतश् चायं दुहितेयं तथा मया ॥
बान्धवाश् च परित्यक्तास् त्वदर्थं जीवितं च मे ॥
यज्ञैस् तपोभिर् नियमैर् दानैश् च विविधैस् तथा ॥
विशिष्यते स्त्रिया भर्तुर् नित्यं प्रियहिते स्थितिः ॥
vyuṣṭir eṣā parā strīṇāṃ pūrvaṃ bhartuḥ parā gatiḥ ||
na tu brāhmaṇa putrāṇāṃ viṣaye parivartitum ||
parityaktaḥ sutaś cāyaṃ duhiteyaṃ tathā mayā ||
bāndhavāś ca parityaktās tvadarthaṃ jīvitaṃ ca me ||
yajñais tapobhir niyamair dānaiś ca vividhais tathā ||
viśiṣyate striyā bhartur nityaṃ priyahite sthitiḥ ||
"This is the highest reward for wives: that the husband be first, her highest goal — and not, O brahmin, to remain living for the sake of sons. For your sake I have abandoned both this son and this daughter, and kinsmen, and my very life. To abide always in the good and love of one's husband excels, for a wife, sacrifices, austerities, vows, and manifold gifts."
ea6a182d99de · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:09:57 PM UTC
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Here the wife places her husband above all else — even above children and rites. Telling is her declaration: for a wife, service to her husband's good surpasses sacrifices, austerities, and gifts — devotion outweighs ritual observance. Here is a resonance with the highest truth: as for the devotee love for the Lord surpasses all rites and merits, so for the faithful wife love for her husband is her first dharma and highest worship. Telling too is that she enumerates all she has forsaken — children, kin, life: devotion gives everything, keeping nothing back for itself. Thus the text shows that the path of love and service is higher than the path of ritual; and in conjugal fidelity there glimmers an image of the devotion that finds its perfect object in the Lord.