Varṇāśrama-ācāra, Aśauca (Sūtaka) Regulations, and Prāyaścitta with Funeral-Rite Notes
जात्यन्धबधिरे मूके न दोषः परिवेदने / नष्टे मृते प्रव्रजिते क्लीबे वा पतिते पतौ
jātyandhabadhire mūke na doṣaḥ parivedane / naṣṭe mṛte pravrajite klībe vā patite patau
Nếu người chồng bẩm sinh mù, điếc hoặc câm, thì người vợ tìm người chồng khác không mắc lỗi. Cũng vậy, nếu chồng mất tích, đã chết, đã xuất gia lìa đời (pravrajita), bất lực, hoặc sa vào trọng tội, thì nàng tái giá cũng không bị khiển trách.
Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Concept: No fault attaches to a wife’s remarriage when the husband is congenitally incapacitated (blind/deaf/mute) or is lost, dead, renounced, impotent, or fallen.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma as contextual (āpaddharma): rules adapt to preserve social welfare and reduce adharma born of abandonment.
Application: Apply compassionate, context-sensitive norms in family law/ethics; prioritize protection and livelihood when marital support is impossible.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.107 (āpaddharma and prāyaścitta adjacency)
This verse outlines specific dharmic exceptions where a woman is not blamed for seeking a new marital shelter—especially when the husband cannot fulfill marital duties due to disappearance, death, renunciation, impotence, severe disability, or grave moral fall.
Indirectly: it frames dharma in household life, emphasizing that social and ethical order must be maintained even amid loss or incapacity—supporting righteous living that, in Garuda Purana’s broader teaching, influences karmic outcomes after death.
Use it as a principle of compassionate, duty-based ethics: when a relationship cannot sustain its core responsibilities due to irreversible conditions, dharma prioritizes protection, stability, and social legitimacy over blame.