f thou
refuse to do what I supplicate thee for, O Dushmanta, thy head this
moment shall burst into a hundred pieces! The husband entering the womb
of the wife cometh out himself in the form of the son. Therefore is the
wife called by those cognisant of the Vedas as Jaya (she of whom one is
born). And the son that is so born unto persons cognisant of the Vedic
Mantras rescueth the spirits of deceased ancestors. And because the son
rescueth ancestors from the hell call Put, therefore, hath he been called
by the Self-create himself as Puttra (the rescuer from Put). By a son one
conquereth the three worlds. By a son's son, one enjoyeth eternity. And
by a grandson's son great-grand-fathers enjoy everlasting happiness. She
is a true wife who is skilful in household affairs. She is a true wife
who hath borne a son. She is a true wife whose heart is devoted to her
lord. She is a true wife who knoweth none but her lord. The wife is a
man's half. The wife is the first of friends. The wife is the root of
religion, profit, and desire. The wife is the root of salvation. They
that have wives can perform religious acts. They that have wives can lead
domestic lives. They that have wives have the means to be cheerful. They
that have wives can achieve good fortune. Sweet-speeched wives are
friends on occasions of joy. They are as fathers on occasions of
religious acts. They are mothers in sickness and woe. Even in the deep
woods to a traveller a wife is his refreshment and solace. He that hath a
wife is trusted by all. A wife, therefore, is one's most valuable
possession. Even when the husband leaving this world goeth into the
region of Yama, it is the devoted wife that accompanies him thither. A
wife going before waits for the husband. But if the husband goeth before,
the chaste wife followeth close. For these reasons, O king, doth marriage
exist. The husband enjoyth the companionship of the wife both in this and
in the other worlds. It hath been said by learned persons that one is
himself born as one's son. Therefore, a man whose wife hath borne a son
should look upon her as his mother. Beholding the face of the son one
hath begotten upon his wife, like his own face in a mirror, one feeleth
as happy as a virtuous man, on attaining to heaven. Men scorched by
mental grief, or suffering under bodily pain, feel as much refreshed in
the companionship of their wives as a perspiring person in a cool bath.
No man, even in anger, should ever do a