सुप्रजाभिः सपत्नीभिर्दासीमिव तिरस्कृताम् ॥४०॥
dhig aprajÄá¹ striyaá¹ pÄpÄá¹
patyuÅ› cÄgá¹›ha-sammatÄm
suprajÄbhiḥ sapatnÄ«bhir
dÄsÄ«m iva tiraská¹›tÄm
dhik - all condemnation; aprajÄm - without a son; striyam - upon a woman; pÄpÄm - full of sinful activities; patyuḥ - by the husband; ca - also; a-gá¹›ha-sammatÄm - who is not honored at home; su-prajÄbhiḥ - who have sons; sapatnÄ«bhiḥ - by co-wives; dÄsÄ«m - a maidservant; iva - exactly like; tiraská¹›tÄm - dishonored.
A wife who has no sons is neglected at home by her husband and dishonored by her co-wives exactly like a maidservant. Certainly such a woman is condemned in every respect because of her sinful life.
As stated by CÄṇakya Paṇá¸ita:
mÄtÄ yasya gá¹›he nÄsti
bhÄryÄ cÄpriya-vÄdinÄ«
araṇyaá¹ tena gantavyaá¹
yathÄraṇyaá¹ tathÄ gá¹›ham
“A person who has no mother at home and whose wife does not speak sweetly should go to the forest. For such a person, living at home and living in the forest are equal.†Similarly, for a woman who has no son, who is not cared for by her husband and whose co-wives neglect her, treating her like a maidservant, to go to the forest is better than to remain at home.
