Text 60]
Lord Caitanya's Childhood Pastimes
163
ly the  kṣatriyas —could marry more than one wife. In the  Mahābhārata , or the old history of India, we see that  kṣatriya  kings especially used to marry many wives. According to Vedic civilization there was no restriction against this, and even a man more than fifty years old could marry. But to be married to a man who had many wives was not a very pleasing situation because the husband's love would be divided among his many wives. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu apparently wanted to curse the girls unwilling to offer Him the  naivedya  to be married to men who had at least four wives.
The social structure allowing a man to marry more than one wife can be supported in this way. Generally in every society the female population is greater in number than the male population. Therefore if it is a principle in the society that all girls should be married, unless polygamy is allowed it will not be possible. If all the girls are not married there is a good chance of adultery, and a society in which adultery is allowed cannot be very peaceful or pure. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness society we have restricted illicit sex life. The practical difficulty is to find a husband for each and every girl. We are therefore in favor of polygamy, provided, of course, that the husband is able to maintain more than one wife.
TEXT 59
ইহা শুনি’ তা-সবার মনে হইল ভয় ।
কোন কিছু জানে, কিবা দেবাবিষ্ট হয় ॥ ৫৯ ॥
ihā śuni' tā-sabāra mane ha-ila bhaya kona kichu jāne, kibā devāviṣṭa haya
SYNONYMS
ihā śuni' —hearing this;  tā-sabāra —of all the girls;  mane —in the minds;  ha-ila —became;  bhaya —fear;  kona kichu —something uncommon;  jāne —He knows;  kibā —what if;  devā-āviṣṭa —empowered by demigods;  haya —He is.
TRANSLATION
Hearing this supposed curse by Lord Caitanya, the girls, considering that He might know something uncommon or be empowered by demigods, were afraid that His curse might be effective.
TEXT 60
আনিয়া নৈবেদ্য তারা গন্মুখে ধরিল ।
খাইয়া নৈবেদ্য তারে ইষ্টবর দিল ॥ ৬০ ॥
āniyā naivedya tārā sammukhe dharila khāiyā naivedya tāre iṣṭa-vara dila