Vaisampayana said, “O thou foremost of the Bharata race, king Yudhisthira
then asked the illustrious Markandeya a difficult question about
morality, saying, ‘I desire to hear, O holy one, about the high and
excellent virtue of women. I desire to hear from thee, O Brahmana,
discourse about the subtle truths of morality. O regenerate Rishi, O best
of men, the Sun, the Moon, the Wind, the Earth, the Fire, the father, the
mother, the preceptor--these and other objects ordained by the gods,
appear to us as Deities embodied! All these that are reverend ones are
worthy of our best regard. So also is the woman who adoreth one lord. The
worship that chaste wives offer unto their husbands appeareth to me to be
fraught with great difficulty. O adorable one, it behoveth thee to
discourse to us of the high and excellent virtue of chaste wives--of
wives who restraining all their senses and keeping their hearts under
complete control regard their husbands as veritable gods. O holy and
adorable one, all this appears to me to be exceedingly difficult of
accomplishment. O regenerate one, the worship that sons offer to their
mothers and fathers and that wives offer to their husbands, both seem to
me to be highly difficult. I do not behold anything that is more
difficult than the severe virtue of chaste women. O Brahmana, the duties
that women of good behaviour discharge with care and the conduct that is
pursued by good sons towards their fathers and mothers appear to me to be
most difficult of performance. Those women that are each devoted to but
one lord, they that always speak the truth, they that undergo a period of
gestation for full ten months--there is nothing, O Brahmana, that is more
difficult than that is done by these. O worshipful one, women bring forth
their offspring with great hazard to themselves and great pain and rear
their children, O bull among Brahmanas, with great affection! Those
persons also who being always engaged in acts of cruelty and there by
incurring general hatred, succeed yet in doing their duties accomplish
what, in my opinion, is exceedingly difficult. O regenerate one, tell me
the truths of the duties of the Kshatriya order. It is difficult, O
twice-born one, for those high-souled ones to acquire virtue who by the
duties of their order are obliged to do what is cruel. O holy one, thou
art capable of answering all questions; I desire to hear thee discourse
on all this. O thou foremost of Bhrigu’s race, I desire to listen to all
this, waiting respectfully on thee, O thou of excellent vows!’
“Markandeya said, ‘O thou foremost of the Bharata race, I will discourse
to thee on all this truly, however difficult of answer thy question may
be. Listen to me, therefore, as I speak unto thee. Some regard the mother
as superior and some the father. The mother, however, that bringeth forth
and some the father. The mother, however, that bringeth forth and reareth
up offspring what is more difficult. Fathers also, by ascetic penances by
worship of the gods, by adorations addressed to them, by bearing cold and
heat, by incantations and other means desire to have children. And having
by these painful expedients obtained children that are so difficult of
acquisition, they then, O hero, are always anxious about the future of
their sons and, O Bharata, both the father and the mother desire to see
in their sons fame and achievements and prosperity and offspring and
virtue. That son is virtuous who realises these hopes of his parents.
And, O great king, that son with whom the father and the mother are
gratified, achieveth eternal fame and eternal virtue both here and
thereafter. As regards women again, neither sacrifice nor sraddhas, nor
fasts are of any efficacy. By serving their husbands only they can win
heaven. O king, O Yudhishthira, remembering this alone, listen thou with
attention to the duties of chaste women.”