Then doth the son become old, then doth he become
stricken with grief, then doth the world look empty in his eyes, when he
becomes deprived of his mother. There is no shelter (protection against
the sun) like the mother. There is no refuge like the mother. There is no
defence like the mother. There is no one so dear as the mother. For
having borne him in her womb the mother is the son's Dhatri. For having
been the chief cause of his birth, she is his Janani. For having nursed
his young limbs into growth, she is called Amva. For bringing forth a
child possessed of courage she is called Virasu. For nursing and looking
after the son she is called Sura. The mother is one's own body. What
rational man is there that would slay his mother, to whose care alone it
is due that his own head did not lie on the street-side like a dry gourd?
When husband and wife unite themselves for procreation, the desire
cherished with respect to the (unborn) son are cherished by both, but in
respect of their fruition more depends upon the mother than on the
sire.[1206] The mother knows the family in which the son is born and the
father who has begotten him. From the moment of conception the mother
begins to show affection to her child and takes delight in her. (For this
reason, the son should behave equally towards her). On the other hand,
the scriptures declare that the offspring belongs to the father alone. If
men, after accepting the hands of wives in marriage and pledging
themselves to earn religious merit without being dissociated from them,
seek congress with other people's wives, they then cease to be worthy of
respect.
Pages:
2120
2121
2122
2123
2124
2125
2126
2127
2128
2129
2130
2131
2132
2133
2134
2135
2136
2137
2138
2139
2140
2141
2142
2143
2144