Shloka 30
Varṇāśrama-ācāra, Aśauca (Sūtaka) Regulations, and Prāyaścitta with Funeral-Rite Notes
पञ्चस्वापत्सु नारीणां पतिरन्यो विधीयते / भर्त्रा सहमृता नारी रोमाब्दानि वसेद्दिवि
pañcasvāpatsu nārīṇāṃ patiranyo vidhīyate / bhartrā sahamṛtā nārī romābdāni vaseddivi
Dans cinq sortes de calamités, il est enjoint à la femme de prendre un autre époux. Mais la femme qui meurt avec son mari demeure au ciel autant d’années qu’il y a de poils sur le corps.
Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda / Vinatā-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Svarga
Concept: Āpaddharma permits remarriage in five calamities; alternatively, co-death with husband yields immense svarga merit.
Vedantic Theme: Karma-phala proportionality and the tension between worldly duty (survival/order) and idealized fidelity narratives.
Application: Recognize that dharma texts often contain both pragmatic exceptions and idealized exemplars; apply the pragmatic rule in real calamity, and treat the reward claim as value-signaling within its tradition.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: realm
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.107 (women’s dharma/āpaddharma context)
FAQs
This verse applies āpaddharma to marriage: in specified severe calamities, normal marital rules are relaxed and remarriage is permitted, showing that dharma adapts to preserve life and social order.
It links a specific act (dying together with one’s husband) with a stated post-death result—residence in heaven—presenting karma-phala (fruit of action) as a determinant of afterlife experience.
Read it as a reminder that dharma includes compassionate exceptions in crises, and that ethical intention and duty-oriented living are treated as spiritually consequential.