40 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 3, Ch. 1
TEXT 40
wa wah firetsien
wafizin =f = aa
Tevet = fafa
Gada: «= SHANA! livoll
aho prthapi dhriyate’rbhakarthe
rajarsi-varyena vinapi tena
yas tv eka-viro ‘dhiratho vijigye
dhanur dvitiyah kakubhas catasrah

aho—O my lord; prtha—Kunti; api—also; dhriyate—bears her life;
arbhaka-arthe—for the sake of fatherless children; rajarsi—King Pandu;
varyena—the best; vinapi— without him; tena—him; yah—one who; tu—but;
eka—alone; virah—the warrior; adhirathah—commander; vijigye—could
conquer; dhanuh—the bow; dvitiyah—the second; kukubhah—directions;
catasrah—four.

TRANSLATION

O my lord, is Prtha still living? She lived only for the sake of her
fatherless children; otherwise it was impossible for her to live without
King Pandu, who was the greatest commander and who alone conquered
the four directions simply with the help of a second bow.

PURPORT

A faithful wife cannot live without her lord, the husband, and therefore
all widows used to voluntarily embrace the burning fire which consumed
the dead husband. This system was very common in India because all the
wives were chaste and faithful to their husbands. Later on, with the
advent of the age of Kali, the wives gradually began to be less adherent to
their husbands, and the voluntary embrace of the fire by the widows
became a thing of the past. Very recently the system was abolished, since
the voluntary system had become a forcible social custom.

When Maharaja Pandu died, both his wives, namely Kunti and Madri,
were prepared to embrace the fire, but Madri requested Kunti to live for
the sake of the younger children, the five Pandavas. This was agreed upon
by Kunti at the added request of Vyasadeva. In spite of her great
bereavement, Kunti decided to live, not to enjoy life in the absence of her
husband, but only to give protection to the children. This incidence is
referred to here by Vidura because he knew all the facts about his sister-
