bhartuḥ śuśrūṣaṇaḿ strīṇāḿ
paro dharmo hy amāyayā
tad-bandhūnāḿ ca kalyāṇaḥ
prajānāḿ cānupoṣaṇam
bhartuh -- of one's husband; susrushanam -- faithful service; strinam -- for women; parah -- the highest; dharmah -- religious duty; hi -- indeed; amayaya -- without duplicity; tat-bandhunam -- to the relatives of their husbands; ca -- and; kalyanah -- doing good; prajanam -- of their offspring; ca -- and; anuposhanam -- the care.
The highest religious duty for a woman is to sincerely serve her husband, behave well toward her husband's family and take good care of her children.
Srila Jiva Gosvami astutely points out here that the gopis real, eternal husband is Lord Krishna, not their so-called husbands at home, who falsely considered the gopis their property. Thus a strict interpretation of the word amayaya, "without illusion," reveals that the supreme religious duty for the gopis is to serve Sri Krishna, their real lover.
