1230
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 4, Ch. 26]
kva vartate sā lalanā majjantam vyasanārṇave yā mām uddharate prajñām dīpayantī pade pade
kva—where; vartate—is now staying; sā—she; lalanā—woman; majjantam—while drowning; vyasana-arṇave—in the ocean of danger; yā—who; mām—me; uddharate—delivers; prajñām—good intelligence; dīpayantī—enlightening; pade pade—in every step.
TRANSLATION
Kindly let me know the whereabouts of that beautiful woman who always saves me when I am drowning in the ocean of danger. By giving me good intelligence at every step, she always saves me.
PURPORT
There is no difference between a good wife and good intelligence. One who possesses good intelligence can deliberate properly and save himself from many dangerous conditions. In material existence there is danger at every step. In  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  it is said:  padam padam yad vipadām na teṣām (Bhāg. 10.14.58) . This material world is not actually a place of residence for an intelligent person or a devotee because here there is danger at every step. Vaikuṇṭha is the real home for the devotee, for there is no anxiety and no danger. Good intelligence means becoming  Kṛṣṇa  conscious. In the  Caitanya-caritāmṛta  it is said:  kṛṣṇa ye bhaje se baḍa catura . Unless one is  Kṛṣṇa  conscious, he cannot be called an intelligent person.
Herein we see that King Purañjana was searching after his good wife, who always helped him out of the dangerous situations that always occur in material existence. As already explained, a real wife is  dharma-patnī . That is, a woman accepted in marriage by ritualistic ceremony is called  dharma-patnī , which signifies that she is accepted in terms of religious principles. Children born of  dharma-patnī , or a woman married according to religious principles, inherit the property of the father, but children born of a woman who is not properly married do not inherit the father's property. The word  dharma-patnī  also refers to a chaste wife. A chaste wife is one who never had any connection with men before her marriage. Once a woman is given the freedom to mingle with all kinds of men in her youth, it is very difficult for her to keep chaste. She generally cannot remain chaste.