FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.14.38

विधायालीकविश्रम्भमज्ञेषु त्यक्तसौहृदा: । नवं नवमभीप्सन्त्य: पुंश्चल्य: स्वैरवृत्तय: ॥ ३८ ॥
vidhāyālīka-viśrambham
[vidhaayaaleeka-vishrambham]
ajñeṣu tyakta-sauhṛdāḥ
[ajneshu tyakta-sauhridaah]
navaṁ navam abhīpsantyaḥ
[navam navam abheepsantyah]
puṁścalyaḥ svaira-vṛttayaḥ
[pumshchalyah svaira-vrittayah]
vidhāya — by establishing alīka — false viśrambham — faithfulness ajñeṣu — unto the foolish men tyakta-sauhṛdāḥ — who have given up the company of well-wishers navam — new navam — new abhīpsantyaḥ — desiring puṁścalyaḥ — women very easily allured by other men svaira — independently vṛttayaḥ — professional.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
vidhāyālīka-viśrambham
vidhāya
by establishing
alīka
false
viśrambham
faithfulness
ajñeṣu tyakta-sauhṛdāḥ
ajñeṣu
unto the foolish men
tyakta-sauhṛdāḥ
who have given up the company of well-wishers
navaṁ navam abhīpsantyaḥ
navam
new
navam
new
abhīpsantyaḥ
desiring
puṁścalyaḥ svaira-vṛttayaḥ
puṁścalyaḥ
women very easily allured by other men
svaira
independently
vṛttayaḥ
professional.
Women are very easily seduced by men. Therefore, polluted women give up the friendship of a man who is their well-wisher and establish false friendship among fools. Indeed, they seek newer and newer friends, one after another.

Because women are easily seduced, the Manu-saṁhitā enjoins that they should not be given freedom. A woman must always be protected, either by her father, by her husband, or by her elderly son. If women are given freedom to mingle with men like equals, which they now claim to be, they cannot keep their propriety. The nature of a woman, as personally described by Urvaśī, is to establish false friendship with someone and then seek new male companions, one after another, even if this means giving up the company of a sincere well-wisher.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Women are prostitutes, independent minded, giving up friendship and establishing false faith among foolish men, desiring new association all the time.
Women are described as easily seduced, abandoning well-wishers for new false friends. The śāstra speaks frankly; the modern reader can mine the underlying principle that unprotected attention drifts toward novelty.
Reflection Questions
  • Where in my own attention is novelty winning over fidelity?
  • What structure of protection am I dispensing with under the banner of 'freedom'?
📝 My note

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