मानसः सर्वभूतानां वासुदेवः श्रियः पतिः ॥३३॥
स एव देवतालिङ्गैर्नामरूपविकल्पितैः ।
इज्यते भगवान् पुम्भिः स्त्रीभिश्च पतिरूपधृक् ॥३४॥
patir eva hi nÄrīṇÄá¹
daivataá¹ paramaá¹ smá¹›tam
mÄnasaḥ sarva-bhÅ«tÄnÄá¹
vÄsudevaḥ Å›riyaḥ patiḥ
sa eva devatÄ-liá¹…gair
nÄma-rÅ«pa-vikalpitaiḥ
ijyate bhagavÄn pumbhiḥ
strībhiś ca pati-rūpa-dhṛk
patiḥ - the husband; eva - indeed; hi - certainly; nÄrīṇÄm - of women; daivatam - demigod; paramam - supreme; smá¹›tam - is considered; mÄnasaḥ - situated in the heart; sarva-bhÅ«tÄnÄm - of all living entities; vÄsudevaḥ - VÄsudeva; Å›riyaḥ - of the goddess of fortune; patiḥ - the husband; saḥ - He; eva - certainly; devatÄ-liá¹…gaiḥ - by the forms of the demigods; nÄma - names; rÅ«pa - forms; vikalpitaiḥ - conceived; ijyate - is worshiped; bhagavÄn - the Supreme Personality of Godhead; pumbhiḥ - by men; strÄ«bhiḥ - by women; ca - also; pati-rÅ«pa-dhá¹›k - in the form of the husband.
A husband is the supreme demigod for a woman. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord VÄsudeva, the husband of the goddess of fortune, is situated in everyone’s heart and is worshiped through the various names and forms of the demigods by fruitive workers. Similarly, a husband represents the Lord as the object of worship for a woman.
The Lord says in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (9.23):
ye ’py anya-devatÄ-bhaktÄ
yajante Å›raddhayÄnvitÄḥ
te ’pi mÄm eva kaunteya
yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam
“Whatever a man may sacrifice to other gods, O son of KuntÄ«, is really meant for Me alone, but it is offered without true understanding.†The demigods are various assistants who act like the hands and legs of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who is not in direct touch with the Supreme Lord and cannot conceive of the exalted position of the Lord is sometimes advised to worship the demigods as various parts of the Lord. If women, who are usually very much attached to their husbands, worship their husbands as representatives of VÄsudeva, the women benefit, just as AjÄmila benefited by calling for NÄrÄyaṇa, his son. AjÄmila was concerned with his son, but because of his attachment to the name of NÄrÄyaṇa, he attained salvation simply by chanting that name. In India a husband is still called pati-guru, the husband spiritual master. If husband and wife are attached to one another for advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, their relationship of cooperation is very effective for such advancement. Although the names of Indra and Agni are sometimes uttered in the Vedic mantras (indrÄya svÄhÄ, agnaye svÄhÄ), the Vedic sacrifices are actually performed for the satisfaction of Lord Viṣṇu. As long as one is very much attached to material sense gratification, the worship of the demigods or the worship of one’s husband is recommended.
