Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Sri Caitanya Caritamrita Madhya 15.264

shathire kaha -- tare chaduka, se ha-ila 'patita'

'patita' ha-ile bharta tyajite ucita

SYNONYMS

shathire kaha -- inform Shathi; tare chaduka -- let her give him up; se ha-ila -- he has become; patita -- fallen; patita ha-ile -- when one has fallen; bharta -- such a husband; tyajite -- to give up; ucita -- is the duty.

TRANSLATION

"Inform my daughter Shathi to abandon her relationship with her husband because he has fallen down. When the husband falls down, it is the wife's duty to relinquish the relationship.

PURPORT

Srila Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya considered that if Amogha were killed, the killer would suffer sinful reactions for killing the body of a brahmana. For the same reason, it would have been undesirable for the Bhattacarya to commit suicide because he also was a brahmana. Since neither course could be accepted, the Bhattacarya decided to give up his relationship with Amogha and never see his face.

As far as killing the body of a brahmana is concerned, Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.7.53) gives the following injunction concerning a brahma-bandhu, a person born of a brahmana father but devoid of brahminical qualities:

sri-bhagavan uvaca

brahma-bandhur na hantavya

atatayi vadhar-hanah

"The Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna said, 'A brahma-bandhu is not to be killed, but if he is an aggressor, he must be killed.'"

Quoting from the smriti, Srila Sridhara Svami comments on this quotation from Srimad-Bhagavatam:

atatayinam ayantam api vedanta-paragam

jigham santam jighamsiyan na tena brahma-ha bhavet

"'An aggressor intent on killing may be a very learned scholar of Vedanta, yet he should be killed because of his envy in killing others. In such a case, it is not sinful to kill a brahmana.'"

It is also stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.7.57):

vapanam dravinadanam sthanan niryapanam tatha

esha hi brahma-bandhunam vadho nanyo 'sti daihikah

"Cutting the hair from his head, depriving him of his wealth and driving him from his residence are the prescribed punishments for a brahma-bandhu. There is no injunction for killing the body."

As far as Shathi, the daughter of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, was concerned, she was advised to give up her relationship with her husband. Concerning this, Srimad-Bhagavatam (5.5.18) states, na patis ca sa syan na mocayed yah samupeta-mrityum: "One cannot be a husband if he cannot liberate his dependents from inevitable death." If a person is not in Krishna consciousness and is bereft of spiritual power, he cannot protect his wife from the path of repeated birth and death. Consequently such a person cannot be accepted as a husband. A wife should dedicate her life and everything to Krishna for further advancement in Krishna consciousness. If her husband abandons Krishna consciousness and she gives up her connection with him, she follows in the footsteps of the dvija-patnis, the wives of the brahmanas who were engaged in performing sacrifices. The wife is not to be condemned for cutting off such a relationship. In this regard, Sri Krishna assures the dvija-patnis in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.23.31-32):

patayo nabhyasuyeran pitri-bhratri-sutadayah

lokas ca vo mayopeta deva apy anumanvate

na pritaye 'nuragaya hy anga-sango nrinam iha

tan mano mayi yunjana aciran mam avapsyatha

"My dear dvija-patnis, rest assured that your husbands will not neglect you on your return, nor will your brothers, sons or fathers refuse to accept you. Because you are My pure devotees, not only your relatives but also people in general, as well as the demigods, will be satisfied with you. Transcendental love for Me does not depend upon bodily connection, but anyone whose mind is always absorbed in Me will surely, very soon, come to Me for My eternal association."

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness