Text 16] The Activities of the Pracetas 1503

instance, was married to all of the five Pandava brothers. Similarly, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead ordered all the sons of Pracinabarhisat to
marry the one girl born of the great sage Kandu and Pramloca. In special
cases, a girl is allowed to marry more than one man, provided she is able
to treat her husbands equally. This is not possible for an ordinary woman.
Only one who is especially qualified can be allowed to marry more than
one husband. In this age of Kali, to find such an equipoised woman is very
difficult. Thus according to scripture, kalau pajica vivarjayet. In this age a
woman is forbidden to marry her husband’s brother. This system is still
practiced in some of the hilly tracts of India. The Lord says: aprthag-
dharma-sileyam bhiiyat patny arpitasaya. With the blessings of the Lord,
all things are possible. The Lord especially benedicted the girl to surrender
equally to all brothers. Aprthag-dharma, meaning occupational duty with-
out difference of purpose, is taught in Bhagavad-gitad. Bhagavad-gita is
divided into three primary divisions—karma-yoga, jfidna-yoga, and bhakti-
yoga. The word yoga means acting on behalf of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. As confirmed by Bhagavad-gita:

yajfiarthat karmano ’nyatra
loko ’yam karma-bandhanah

tad-artham karma kaunteya
mukta-sanigah samacara

“Work done as a sacrifice for Visnu has to be performed, otherwise work
binds one to this material world. Therefore, O son of Kunti, perform your
prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always
remain unattached and free from bondage.” (Bg. 3.9)

One may act according to his own occupational duty just to satisfy the
yajfia-purusa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is called aprthag-
dharma. Different limbs of the body may act in different ways, but the
ultimate objective is to maintain the entire body. Similarly, if we work for
the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we will find that
we satisfy everything. We should follow in the footsteps of the Pracetas,
whose only aim was to satisfy the Supreme Lord. This is called aprthag-
dharma. According to Bhagavad-gita:

sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam Saranam vraja

aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah
