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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.23.6
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A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 6
- kardama uvāca
- tuṣṭo 'ham adya tava mānavi mānadāyāḥ
- śuśrūṣayā paramayā parayā ca bhaktyā
- yo dehinām ayam atīva suhṛt sa deho
- nāvekṣitaḥ samucitaḥ kṣapituṁ mad-arthe
kardamaḥthe great sage Kardama said uvācathe great sage Kardama said — the great sage Kardama said; tuṣṭaḥpleased — pleased; ahamI am — I am; adyatoday — today; tavawith you — with you; mānaviO daughter of Manu — O daughter of Manu; mānawho are respectful-dāyāḥwho are respectful — who are respectful; śuśrūṣayāby the service — by the service; paramayāmost excellent — most excellent; parayāhighest — highest; caand — and; bhaktyāby the devotion — by the devotion; yaḥthat which — that which; dehināmto the embodied — to the embodied; ayamthis — this; atīvaextremely — extremely; suhṛtdear — dear; saḥthat — that; dehaḥbody — body; nanot — not; avekṣitaḥtaken care of — taken care of; samucitaḥproperly — properly; kṣapitumto expend — to expend; maton my account-artheon my account — on my account.
Kardama Muni said: O respectful daughter of Svāyambhuva 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.