गृहस्थकर्त्तव्यानिThe duties of the householder
Verse 40
स्थितेषु स्वीयदारेषु स्त्रियमन्यां न संस्पृशेत् । दुष्टेन चेतसा विद्वानन्यथा नारकी भवेत् ॥ ४० ॥
sthitēṣu svīyadārēṣu striyamanyāṁ na saṁspṛśēt | duṣṭēna cētasā vidvānanyathā nārakī bhavēt || 40 ||
Translation
While his own wife lives, he should not touch another woman with a corrupted mind; otherwise even the learned man goes to hell.
Word by word
- sthitēṣu
- while living
- svīya
- his own
- dārēṣu
- wife
- striyam
- (striyam) a woman
- anyāṁ
- another
- na
- not
- saṁspṛśēt
- he should touch
- duṣṭēna
- with a corrupted
- cētasā
- mind
- vidvān
- (vidvān) the learned man
- anyathā
- otherwise
- nārakī
- goes to hell
- bhavēt
- becomes
Meaning
The husband's fidelity. The commentary glosses "with a corrupted mind" as "with a mind gone wrong", that is, with desire. Touch as such (helping, greeting) is not the point; the intention is. In the Kaula context of the Tantra the verse also marks a limit: the rites of the circle do not license what the household dharma forbids, and verse 178 will make the same point about the circle itself.
Commentary
Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated
Duṣṭena cetasā: with a corrupted mind.