Text 14] The Marriage of Kardama Muni and Devahiti 873

Kardama Muni had no worldly possessions—he was a hermit living in the
forest—but he was advanced in culture. Therefore, in offering one’s
daughter to a person, the culture and quality are counted as prominent,
not wealth or any other material consideration.

TEXT 14

we arid fey fret aaaey |
ARAN: AA sage F uel

aham tvasrnavam vidvan
vivdhartham samudyatam

atas tvam upakurvanah
prattam pratigrhana me

aham—I; tva—y ou; asrpavam—heard; vidvan—O wise man; vivaha-artham—
for the sake of marriage; samudyatam—prepared; atah—hence; tvam—you;
upakurvanah—not taken a vow of perpetual celibacy; prattam—offered;
pratigrhana— please accept; me—of me.

TRANSLATION

Svayambhuva Manu continued: O wise man, | heard that you were pre-
pared to marry. Please accept her hand, which is being offered to you by
me, since you have not taken a vow of perpetual celibacy.

PURPORT

The principle of brahmacarya is celibacy. There are two kinds of
brahmacaris. One is called naisthika-brahmacari, which means one who
takes a vow of celibacy for his whole life, whereas the other, the upakurvana-
brahmacari, is a brahmacari who takes the vow of celibacy up to a certain
age. For example, he may take the vow to remain celibate up to twenty-
five years of age; then, with the permission of his spiritual master, he enters
married life. Brahmacarya is student life, the beginning of life in the
spiritual orders, and the principle of brahmacarya is celibacy. Only a
householder can indulge in sense gratification or sex life, not a brahmacari.
Svayambhuva Manu requested Kardama Muni to accept his daughter,
since Kardama had not taken the vow of naisthika-brahmacarya. He was
willing to marry, and the suitable daughter of a high royal family was
presented.
