Sthree Dharma - The elixir from Maata Paarvati for Married Women

 In Chapter 146 of Mahabharata, the Grandsire of the Kuru Family Bheeshma Pitamah narrates a story where Narada Maharishi was a witness to an explanatoire on Sthree Dharma made by Jaganmaata Paarvati to an august audience of gods and goddesses.

Narada Maharishi relates that Mahaadev Shiva was wanting to hear from Jaganmaata Paarvati and hence requested Paarvati to reply to his question. Mahaadev Shiva very politely asked “ Paarvati you have been in association with chaste women who are known to have intense fidelity to their husband (Pativratha Sthree) like Saraswati who is Brahma’s wife, Vishnu’s consort Lakshmi, Lord Indra’s wife Sachi, Yama’s wife Ghruti, Markandeya Maharishi’s wife Dhoomorna, Kuber’s wife Riddhi, Varuna’s wife Gauri, Surya’s wife Suvrachalaa, Chandra’s wife Rohini, Agni’s wife Swaahaa, Maharishi Kaashyaps wife Aditi etc.. In relation to the umbrella of duties of a woman (Sthree Dharma), what are the duties of a Married woman (Naari Dharma) I wish you to please educate us on this. Since you have done intense penance to acquire powers that are no less powerful than mine (of Shiva’s) what you say will be an endorsed dictum that is complete and comprehensive to the world to follow. You are also a half embodiment of me too. Moreover, your explanation will be more acceptable to women who will relate to it, find it apt, appropriate and right to follow. This is because women are mostly influenced from a woman’s words more than that of a man. Therefore I request you to please share the knowledge on Naari Dharma.

Jaganmaata Paarvati then sought the responses from other women seated in the congregation pious & holy rivers (Ganga, Saraswati, Vipasha (vyas or Biyaas), Chandrabhaaga (Chanaav), Eeravati (Raavi), Shatadru (Satluj), Sindhu (Indus), Koushiki (Kosi), Goutami (Godaavari), Yamuna, Narmada and Kaveri) about their response to the question posed by Mahaadev Shiva. Based on their responses she will consolidate all their thoughts and give a complete answer to the question. All the holy rivers then asked the Divine River Ganga to reply. Maata Ganga was overwhelmed and thanked Maata Paarvati on behalf of all the rivers saying “it is the greatness of Maata Paarvati to have given regard and respect to all the rivers to voice their opinion and consider them to be worthy inputs to the answer to be given to Mahaadev’s question. Such an act of seeking opinion & inputs from others before voicing theirs certainly depicts Maata Paarvati as a very learned intellectual.” She also goes on to say “It is only Maata Paarvati who has the divine wisdom, experience and is the best ever in this Devlok to answer this question. 

Maata Paarvati then answered: “After marriage the woman

Ø Whose nature (Swabhaav), Behavior (Aacharana) and way of communication is excellent

Ø When the husband feels happy looking at her

Ø Who considers her husband equal to a god and serves him like one would do to a god

Ø Who shows no interest in any other male

Ø Who is pleased/ cheerful in the company of her husband

Ø Who takes care of her husband

Ø Who is devout/ religious and is disciplined when it comes to food preparation and consumption

Ø Who dresses and adorns in an manner that is pleasing and looking beautiful to her husband

Such a woman is A DEVOUT AND A DEPICTION OF PIOUSNESS AND FIDELITY TO HER HUSBAND.” 

She also goes on to say “A woman

Ø Whose husband is un-wealthy or is going through financially tough times, whose husband is unhealthy or suffering with a disease, whose husband is engrasped in sorrow or exhausted with frustrations – the woman who takes meticulous care of such a husband as she would do to her child is worthy of the benefits of Sthree Dharma.   

Ø Who completely trusts/ believes her husband and lives trusting him eternally

Ø Who has an ideal behavior, humility, civility, courtesy, intellect when interacting with her husband.

Ø One who loves to wake up early in the morning, performs her house chores dedicatedly, keeps the house clean, neat and tidy and decorates the house appropriately,

Ø Performs the daily rituals to the gods along with her husband (Agnihotra) and also worships the gods with the stothras/ stuthis.

Ø With her food preparations she satisfies meeting the taste buds, health and the hunger of the family members and guests.

Ø Who takes optimum care of her elderly in-laws as well as upholding the respect, reputation and pride of her parents

Ø Who monitors the well-being of all the family members

Ø Who caters to the food needs and health needs of brahmins and those who are poor, weak, orphaned, blind and disabled by rightful help (daana or donations/ sponsorship).

Ø Come what may, un-flinched who always stands by & lives/stays with her husband in troubled times, through problematic situations, in struggle times, in his painful states and in his every situation as a companion

Such a woman is a beholder of Sati Dharma (Duties of a Wife) and is the considered, rewarded and blessed as a DEVOUT DEPICTION OF PIOUSNESS AND FIDELITY TO HER HUSBAND. This is STHREE DHARMA which is a noble way of life to be led by a married woman.”

Bheeshma Pitamah then said “After listening to this and feeling really elated with the knowledge and wisdom shared by Maata Paarvati, Lord Mahaadev Shiva respectfully honoured Maata Paarvati for educating all of the gods and goddesses present and then thanked the congregation for their presence. On seeking permission from the Lord Mahaadev, the gods were then permitted to leave to their own abode on closure of the congregation. Then the Gods, Godesses, Rivers, Gandharvas, Angels (Apsaras) and other divine beings then departed to their respective abodes.”

After listening to Indumati Katdhare (with love addressed as Indu Tai) on the 28^th January 2024 (yesterday) while being part of the intellectual congregation on rejuvenating the education system of our country to produce worth, valuable contributive visionaries who will lead a life of piety, bliss and as enlightened successful beings rather than living a consumeristic distraught life, I was impressed with the eloquence with which she stated the problem, offered a pathway to achieve and entrusted a vision to the audience to look at ways to contribute intellectually and infrastructurally such that we become a better nation driven by values, ethics and self-respect earned by establishing in all the necessary dimensions – Social, Economic, Political and Individual through the knowledge and wisdom of ancient Bhaarat that has been transcended since time immemorial. This inspired me to translate this text feeling it apt for all the women who are to be married or have been married such that, a value based living begins in each home. A realized and enlightened woman is the core of a developed society and the designer of the future of a nation (the essence that I understood from the speech of Swamy Shri Shri Abhinava Shankara Bhaarati of Shaarada Peetha on this very day too where he mentioned education beings in each home and it is here that MAN-MAKING should begin). I thank Indumati Tai and Shri Shri Abhinava Swami Ji for that instant spark that has today made me offer my contribution in this sphere of their vision. This is the least that I could do and will keep doing so in the future.  This translation of mine is for those English reading/ speaking audience. The details of the source is herein below mentioned.

 

SOURCE: Sankshipta Mahaabhaarat; Khand 12; Raadhika Laddha; Punarutthaan Prakaashan Seva Trust; Gyaan Saagar Granthamaala

SANAATANA DHARMA - 1 - Challenges in defining it...

 SANAATANA DHARMA -1-

CHALLENGES IN DEFINING IT...

Ever-since our childhood we have heard of "SANAATANA  DHARMA"; perhaps from our elders, but, these days more is being spoken about these words. Though these are just 2 words “Sanaatana” and “Dharma”, from Sanskrit - they are defined, explained and used in ways that has put it in low light. Most of us have a vague understanding of it and yet a few don't really know the complete meaning of it. Apart from this many of us have never learnt the Sanskrit language and find it difficult to decipher the true meaning therefore, we fully have depended & stand convinced that the definition, meanings and explanatory put forward by the foreign authors/ historians/ litterateurs are definitely right. Also due to the scarcity of time, we seldom dive down into sieving through our scriptures and other ancient texts that can unveil the true meaning of these words. 

Whatever the reason, it is evident that we are unaware of what Sanaatana Dharma means and what does it comprise of. Our mind toggles between various thoughts - is it a faith, is it guidelines to our life, is it an unverified dogma that Bhaarat has been following over thousands of years, is it a religion named "HINDUISM" that many foreigners call, is it a culture of superstitions and esoteric sciences??? It is a volley of such questions hovering our minds that   makes many of us refrain from using it - (1) We are unable to explain it when others question us on it; (2) The way the politico's have been unintelligibly using it has forced many of us to personally ban using these, as though, it is so blasphemous that can affect our bonds & relationships with people whom we live or work with; (3) Most of us have the word "secular" imprinted in our minds that does not allow us to explore the understanding of it and as per our convenience remain complacent on it; (4) There is however a large faction of people who have been influenced by a book or an ideology or a faith which has a opinion of the author and not the exact interpretation/ translation of it thus instilling negativism towards Sanaatana Dharma in it entirety.    

On another hand, it has been observed that majority of the definitions & interpretation of Sanaatana Dharma have been made by foreigners and any explanatory by any Bhaaratiya quotes the works of these foreigners which give a fragile incomplete view of Sanaatana Dharma that makes people to misconceptualize it. This misconstrued understanding puts us at risk of doubting the very existence of Sanaatana Dharma and thus our self limiting beliefs takes control of our mental stance on our culture, traditions, philosophy and life thta was enumerated by the ancient Sanskrit texts that speak volumes of our Sanaatana Dharma. Never has it occurred to us Bhaaratiya that there could have been deliberate attempts to misinterpret, wrongly define and distort the real meaning of Sanaatana Dharma and en-cage it into one word called "HINDUISM" such that the foreigners can present many versions that can further complicate the understanding. The reason for making such a eyebrow raising statement is due to these questions that cropped up

• If the definitions and interpretations are clear, correct and right, then why is there confusion & negativism in the minds of people about the Sanaatana Dharma?                                                       
• What was the need to name Sanaatana Dharma as Hinduism if the meaning and understanding was accurate and authentic?                   
• Why did we blindly believe whatever the foreigners wrote without verifying or performing due diligence on their credentials as whether they were authentic Sanskrit scholars/ translators/ interpreters? 

THE UNDERLYING CONSPIRACY...

The richness of the land of Bhaarat in all forms - Art & Craft; Languages & Literature, Science & Technology; Metals, Minerals &  Metallurgy; Health & Medicine; Traditions, Practices & Spiritualism; Wealth & Economy; Non Interfering, Harmonious & Peaceful Existence among its people attracted scores of invaders of foreign lands. History is evident of the vested interest of there foreigners - some came for looting its wealth, some to denude its culture, some to bleed its knowledge and some just to destroy whatever they saw. Whatever their country of origin they had a common agenda - prove the supremacy of their faith, religion, race and the might of their armies over Bhaarat.

It is very appalling to look at the means the Foreigners adopted is true and really hard to believe. They made us culturally fragile by destroying our belief system, created a mental divide creating disharmony among all of us who were living together in harmony (we had vocation/ tradesman based characterization which they leveraged to divide on the lines of religion and social strata characterization - this divide destroyed our social framework and crippled our feelings of respect for each other and over the last century we are yet to overcome this) and finally they divided our country itself. The foreigners strategically step by step brought the entire country Bhaarat and its fundamental base encompassing Sanaatana Dharma on its knees. Although many rebelled but they were suppressed and silenced through mass executions - what the swords did we are still unable to pen the ordeal that our forefathers went through. Despite these initial spikes of uproars, the Foreigners never stopped their onslaught. Here is a brief of what the Foreigners did:-  

1. At first the Foreigners targeted our language that kept us bound, guided us and explained the very foundation of our existence. It enabled us to decode & understand the meaning of life; also educated us on a variety of all physical, physiological and natural sciences as well as the inner science of enriching our soul and evolving harmonically with nature together. This was Sanskrit a language that was passed on from ages coming from our ancestors and which was the core of our existence. The Foreigners thus put in all their efforts and employed ways to make us detest our language forbidding us to speak in it stating calling in unscientific baseless and a language of rites and rituals that only revolved around worship. Sanskrit faded over time and people who know it and understand it today are very few.                                                                                             
2. Their next was to get the students out of the Gurukulas and train their minds to accept, adopt and live they way they wanted the Bharatiya children. Therefore, they created high schools that taught students in their Foreign Language and propagating firmly to the Bhaaratiyas by quoting    
1. It is easy to use - has very less alphabets and simple for pronunciation as compared to Sanskrit
2. It is fundamental to learn the foreign language to ensure employment in the workplaces of these foreigners.
3. In tandem propagated a lie (untruth) that Sanskrit was the language that was meant only for ritualistic activities & the worship of god and not that which can get them a job or a livelihood or help them in their work or help them in their vocations or for the overall development of people and they created an eco-system of people, policies and structures around it that supported their claims and forced people to believe them & succumb to it.
4. “People who knew the foreign language and spoke in it are far more superior to those who did not” thus creating a social divide in the minds of people
5. The Foreign centers of learning were called SCHOOLS where the medium of instruction was their foreign language. Only these schools were claimed to be THE ONLY AUTHENTIC CENTERS for education the rest were not recognized as SCHOOLS at all. The Bhaaratiya Centers of learning were disregarded as right education centers & the student drift began.   
3. The temples actually contained a school for educating the children of the geographical location. Some large Temples also had Universities thriving into their temple complex. Hence the term used to define a SCHOOL anywhere in the world today is "A School is a TEMPLE OF LEARNING". Apart from imparting free education, the temples also took care meeting infra necessities of the villages, free supply of food & agri produce to students/ teachers and also facilitate trade & industry revolving the temple & society etc. This was achieved from the land holding that the temples had to ensure effective management of the people & the villages. The Foreigners ensured these land holding to be reduced to a fraction by in conniving with the kings of those times which resulted in the temples not getting enough funds to run schools or any of the initiatives in them. Thus the number of schools which were educating the masses started reducing in numbers and over a lakh such temple schools became dysfunctional and over time closed down. Those that remain today only teach ritualistic & worship based education.                 
4. Some foreigners also went to the extent of destroying hundreds & thousands of temples, Centers of learning, ancient Universities of Bharat. Some also went a step further in burning down the libraries that were real knowledge databases. These they did as a show of supremacy of their race, their faith, their education system and their knowledge bases.                                       
5. Finally, the Foreigners got their renowned litterateurs to translate our Sanskrit scriptures and ancient texts in a manner that put the entire content of knowledge, wisdom & sciences in low light drubbing & interpreting it in a manner to prove it to be esoteric or non-evidential or impractical or not scientific at all to be taught to any learner. They also roped in some Bhaaratiya youngsters who were inclined & impressed towards the foreign language and ways of their life to write in a manner that gave a negative feeling to anyone who reads it. These literates to please the foreigner also categorically desecrated certain practices mentioned & traditional rituals or our ways living as superstitions or esoteric or antisocial dogma. This created disbelief in the people of Bhaarat regarding every knowledge segment that the scriptures described which has now led to a scant number of intellectuals to hold on to and working towards debunking all these translations and interpretation such that truth be known to all.

These acts chastised the pathway to not just define Sanaatana Dharma but also made it extremely difficult to defend its philosophy. Thus today the meaning of Sanaatana Dharma is still obscure and the eco-system has made it all the more challenging to prove its true identity.   

IS THERE ANY TRUTH BEHIND THIS...

A look at the present times is evidence of the fruitfulness of the strategies employed by the Foreigners. A drive down the lanes of our history numerous questions crop up - “Why didn’t we see it coming? Why did our mind not sense the vested interest of these foreigners? Why did the scholars succumb and become party to this deterioration of our culture?” - Its rather pity-some that the answers to these questions could possibly have been - that in those times over centuries ago the choice before our forefathers could have been between life & death, between livelihood and starvation, between rebelling and remain subdued, between getting favours for a better future and remain devoid of all benefits jeopardizing the future – This is understandable and there could have been many more reasons that may have restricted people to make the choice. 

But, why is it that even after 1947 (the year we got rid of Foreign Rule) that these questions never cropped up in the minds of us Bhaaratiyas? Why did the country's leadership then take cognizance of this and not reverse damage done by reviving the "Temples of Learning"? Why did the subsequent governments over the last 75 years not look at reinstating the respect, recognition and re-instating the true meaning of Sanaatana Dharma or any Sanskrit scriptural text? Why is it that we still see that the same trend of demeaning the Sanaatana Dharma and showing it in low light continues ? 

The truth is unpalatable to many and people may even doubt the every statements mentioned herein below, questioning their authenticity. However, at this juncture it becomes all the more appropriate to ask these questions to ourselves, ponder over them and understand the conspiracy that has today made it impossible to explain the meaning of Sanaatana Dharma and erasing this mindset about Sanaatana Dharma is a herculean task. Yet it is necessary for us to know, understand & seek answers to the questions so as to prepare our mind in creating a mental platform on which it is able to look at the true meaning and appreciate the vibrant dimensions of Sanaatana Dharma. The necessity is to set out on this inner quest and view these questions pragmatically:-

1. Sanskrit was never the language of the invading or trading or visiting foreigners. How authentic could their translations or interpretations be ?
2. Who taught the Foreigners Sanskrit (a scholar or a Guru or a School or a Gurukul) is unknown. The most prominent of all noted foreigners whose intent, content and interpretations are actually quoted by many Bhaaratiya Scholars today when it comes to Sanaatana Dharma or translation of Vedic Texts could be a point of discussion or contention here ? - The person is the renowned German Max Muller - It is said that he learnt Sanskrit from a French Eugene Burnouf; Eugene learnt Sanskrit from his Father Jean Louis Burnouf who was taught by a British soldier Alexander Hamilton who claims to have learnt from a Pandit in Bhaarat (from 1783 to 1793) whose name & authenticity is unknown. In-fact Hamilton is known as the first teacher of Sanskrit at Hertford College, UK in 1806. Now let us look at some questions:
1. When there was a Hertford College teaching Sanskrit since 1806 why did Max Muller in 1845 go to Eugene in France to learn Sanskrit? Why did he not come to Bhaarat itself to learn under any School which would have made it authentic?
2. Eugene was a researcher of Persian texts/ culture etc. had never visited Bhaarat to understand the eco-system that existed in Bhaarat where Sanskrit and the culture thrived. How authentic would his Sanskrit be and how much did he teach Max Muller in 7 years (as Eugene died in 1852) that made Max Muller a prolific translator of Sanskrit Texts?
3. Likewise Max Muller too never visited India in his entire life time but claims to have translated a volley of our Sanskrit texts & scriptures – The Veda’s, the Upanishads, the Epics, Manusmruti  etc. Infact it was this translation of Manusruti made by Max Mullers that Dr. B R Ambedkar used as an reference source for his book “Annihilation Of Caste”.
4. It was proven that Max Muller had falsely translated the Manusmruti and also wrongly interpreted the contents of several Vedic texts. His Aryan Invasion theory stood without historical evidence and could not prove it had occurred and likely was drubbed as false too.  
3. It is also surprising how people could not understand the intent of this man Max Muller from the statements he made and from his well known quotes. These quotes can clear the fog off the minds of people so as to view our ancient scriptures, texts and also Sanaatana Dharma in a manner different from the way it was projected
1. In Aug 25^th 1866 – “India is much riper for Chirstianity than Rome or Greece….. I should like to live for ten years quite quietly and learn the language, try to make friends, and see whether I was fit to take part in a work, by means of which the old mischief of Indian priestcraft could be overthrown and the way opened for the entrance of simple Christian teaching..."
2. In 1868 – “The translation of the Veda will hereafter tell to a great extent on the fate of India, and on the growth of millions of souls in that country. It is the root of their religion, and to show them what the root is, I feel sure, is the only way of uprooting all that has sprung from it during the last 3,000 years..."
3. In 1868 – “India has been conquered once, but India must be conquered again, and that second conquest should be a conquest by education…"
4. Finally on 2^nd Feb 1835 Thomas Babington Macaulay in his “Minute on Indian Education” which was given concurrence by William Bentick endorsing the views of Macaulay cleared any fog about this “Conquest by Education” by
1. The support for the publication of books in Sanskrit and Arabic should be withdrawn
2. The support for traditional education should be reduced & to do funding for the Madrassa at Delhi and the Hindu College at Banaras
3. Students should no longer be paid to study at these establishments and the money released by these steps should instead go to fund education in Western subjects, with English as the language of instruction

A serious look at the above quotations of these so called Litterateurs can incite anyone’s love for the country and the culture to which they belong yet how is it that

1. Why anyone – be it a saint, leader, scholar or a common man raise his voice and file his objections?
2. How could they NOT KNOW the malafide intentions of these foreigners towards our country?
3. How could anyone use the false translation as a reference source to author a book that further created a social divide which till date has remained inerasable from the minds of people and has fueled discomfort, disharmony and triggered un-favored inclusion among the population today
4. Why didn’t the scholars, researchers, general people or the politicians understand the real intentions of these foreigners and work towards taking steps in the preservation of our culture and tradition from such foreigners?
5. Why the so called freedom fighters & the leaders at the helm of affairs called Congress not take cognizance of it and protest against these?
6. Why has the government continued the same policies enforced by the British (as per Macaulays Minute) pertaining to funding Madrasas and not the Traditional Schools?
7. Why any Sanskrit word or phrase that is uttered is creating a disgruntled response even if it means “Salutations to Mother”? Why is it that this language of Bhaarat that is far ancient than any civilization is not given the due status of an official language or at least “Bhaarat’s Cultural Language”?

The answers to these questions should reveal the conspiracy to make the people remain devoid of the meaning, have a misconstrued understanding, remain in a fruitless mental conflict and refrain towards knowing the truth about Sanaatana Dharma. 

NOTE:  

The quotations and details about mentioned in this chapter are available and widely published on the internet and in respectable/ reputed journals/ government documents and stored in libraries across the globe which are subject to verification & acceptance discretion.