Shloka 63
Nīti-saṅgraha: Conduct, Association, Kali-yuga Decline, and the Supremacy of Vidyā
पिता रक्षति कौमारे भत्ता रक्षति यौवने / पुत्रस्तु स्थविरे काले न स्त्री स्वातन्त्र्यमर्हति
pitā rakṣati kaumāre bhattā rakṣati yauvane / putrastu sthavire kāle na strī svātantryamarhati
બાળપણમાં પિતા તેનું રક્ષણ કરે છે, યુવાનીમાં પતિ રક્ષણ કરે છે, અને વૃદ્ધાવસ્થામાં પુત્ર રક્ષણ કરે છે—એથી સ્ત્રીને સ્વાતંત્ર્ય માટે યોગ્ય માનવામાં આવતું નથી.
Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Concept: Women are placed under guardianship across life stages (father/husband/son) and denied independence—presented as social dharma in the text’s milieu.
Vedantic Theme: Not a Vedantic necessity; rather a socio-legal norm; at most, it aims at ‘raksha’ (protection) as a household-order principle.
Application: Historically: delineation of guardianship duties; contemporarily: reinterpret ‘protection’ as shared family responsibility and safeguarding rights, not denying agency.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Type: household (grihastha) social order
Related Themes: Garuda Purana: dharma-niti passages that mirror smriti household norms
FAQs
This verse frames guardianship (rakṣaṇa) as a dharmic responsibility distributed across life stages—father, husband, and son—emphasizing structured household duties.
It does not directly discuss the soul’s post-death journey; instead, it presents a dharma-oriented social teaching that, in the Purana’s broader framework, supports orderly living believed to reduce adharma and its karmic consequences.
Read it as an injunction on responsibility: family members should ensure safety, support, and wellbeing across life stages, while applying contemporary ethical standards that respect agency and dignity.