Vaisampayana said, "O thou foremost of the Bharata race, king
Yudhishthira 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 thereby 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 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.'"