The Religious Purpose of Accepting a Wife
In the Vedic culture, accepting a wife is a sacred Samskara, or reformatory process, designed to elevate a human being from the animal platform to the spiritual platform. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that marriage is not intended for unrestricted sense gratification but is a religious responsibility. The husband accepts a wife to establish a center for Kṛṣṇa consciousness at home, where both can cooperate to make spiritual progress.
The Necessity of a Son (Putra)
According to Vedic injunctions, the primary purpose of accepting a wife is putra-piṇḍa-prayojanam—to beget a son. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that a son is necessary to offer oblations (piṇḍa) to the forefathers, ensuring their deliverance from hellish conditions.
- The purpose of accepting a wife in religious marriage, as sanctioned in the Vedas, is to have a putra, a son qualified to deliver his father from the darkest region of hellish life.
- A son is required . . . why one should accept a wife for begetting son? Putra-pinda-prayojanam. According to Vedic dharma the pinda-dana, offering pinda, oblations to the forefather, putra is pun-namno narakad yasmat trayate iti putrah.
The Wife as a Partner in Dharma
A wife is described as the "better half" of the husband because she shares in the responsibility of executing religious duties. When a man accepts a qualified wife, she becomes his assistant in all aspects of life—religion, economic development, and liberation—helping him to advance towards the ultimate goal.
- The wife is the cause of all kinds of success in religion, economic development, sense gratification and ultimately salvation. When one accepts a wife, it is to be understood that he is being helped in his progressive march toward liberation.
- By the Vedic injunction, the wife is accepted as the better half of a man's body because she is supposed to be responsible for discharging half of the duties of the husband.
Regulation of Sense Gratification
The acceptance of a wife marks the transition from the brahmacārī stage to the gṛhastha stage. However, this is not a license for licentiousness. Śrīla Prabhupāda strictly warns that a wife should never be accepted merely as an instrument for satisfying lust, as this leads to a bewildered intelligence and degradation.
- Neither wife should be accepted as a machine for satisfying our lust. The marriage tie should be taken as very sacred. One who marries for subduing lust is mistaken. Because lust cannot be satisfied simply by indulging in sense gratification.
- When a man becomes qualitatively like the cats and dogs, he forgets his duties in cultivating spiritual values, and thus he accepts his wife as a sense gratificatory agency.
The Ideal Example
The behavior of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Rāmacandra, sets the ideal standard for civilized society. He accepted only one wife, Sītā, and remained faithful to Her, teaching the principle of eka-patnī-vrata (vow of having one wife), despite the custom of polygamy that existed for kṣatriya kings in those days.
- Lord Ramacandra took a vow to accept only one wife and have no connection with any other women. He was a saintly king, and everything in His character was good, untinged by qualities like anger. He taught good behavior for everyone, especially for householders, in terms of varnasrama-dharma. Thus He taught the general public by His personal activities.
- Eka-patni-vrata, accepting only one wife, was the glorious example set by Lord Ramacandra. One should not accept more than one wife. In those days, of course, people did marry more than one wife.
Conclusion
Accepting a wife is a serious responsibility in the Vedic social system, meant to foster spiritual growth and social stability. It is a calculated step to produce good progeny for the benefit of family and society, and to regulate the natural propensities of the senses. When a wife is accepted under religious principles and treated as a partner in dharma, the home becomes a sanctuary for cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, rather than a place of entanglement.
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Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Accepting a Wife. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.