तुष्टोऽहमद्य तव मानवि मानदायाः
शुश्रूषया परमया परया च भक्त्या ।
यो देहिनामयमतीव सुहृत्स देहो
नावेक्षितः समुचितः क्षपितुं मदर्थे ॥६॥
kardama uvÄca
tuá¹£á¹o 'ham adya tava mÄnavi mÄnadÄyÄḥ
Å›uÅ›rÅ«á¹£ayÄ paramayÄ parayÄ ca bhaktyÄ
yo dehinÄm ayam atÄ«va suhá¹›t sa deho
nÄveká¹£itaḥ samucitaḥ ká¹£apituá¹ mad-arthe
kardamaḥ uvÄca - the great sage Kardama said; tuá¹£á¹aḥ - pleased; aham - I am; adya - today; tava - with you; mÄnavi - O daughter of Manu; mÄna-dÄyÄḥ - who are respectful; Å›uÅ›rÅ«á¹£ayÄ - by the service; paramayÄ - most excellent; parayÄ - highest; ca - and; bhaktyÄ - by the devotion; yaḥ - that which; dehinÄm - to the embodied; ayam - this; atÄ«va - extremely; suhá¹›t - dear; saḥ - that; dehaḥ - body; na - not; aveká¹£itaḥ - taken care of; samucitaḥ - properly; ká¹£apitum - to expend; mat-arthe - on my account.
Kardama Muni said: O respectful daughter of SvÄyambhuva Manu, today I am very much pleased with you for your great devotion and most excellent loving service. Since the body is so dear to embodied beings, I am astonished that you have neglected your own body to use it on my behalf.
It is indicated here that one’s body is very dear, yet Devahūti was so faithful to her husband that not only did she serve him with great devotion, service and respect, but she did not even care for her own health. That is called selfless service. It appears that Devahūti had no sense pleasure, even with her husband, otherwise she would not have deteriorated in health. Acting to facilitate Kardama Muni’s engagement in spiritual elevation, she continually assisted him, not caring for bodily comfort. It is the duty of a faithful and chaste wife to help her husband in every respect, especially when the husband is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In this case, the husband also amply rewarded the wife. This is not to be expected by a woman who is the wife of an ordinary person.
