Text 24] The Activities of Maharaja Priyavrata 47
sons equal to him in beauty, character, magnanimity and other
qualities. He also begot a daughter, the youngest of all, named Ur-
jasvati.

PURPORT

Maharaja Priyavrata not only carried out the order of Lord Brahma by
accepting the duties of government, but also married Barhismati, the
daughter of Visvakarma, one of the prajdpatis. Since Maharaja
Priyavrata was fully trained in transcendental knowledge, he could have
returned home and conducted the business of government as a
brahmacari. Instead, however, when he returned to household life, he
accepted a wife also. The principle is that when one becomes a grhastha,
he must live perfectly in that order, which means he must live peacefully
with a wife and children. When Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s first wife died,
His mother requested Him to marry for a second time. He was twenty
years old and was going to take sannydsa at the age of twenty-four, yet
by the request of His mother, He married. “As long as I am in household
life,’ He told His mother, ‘‘] must have a wife, for household life does
not mean staying in a house. Real household life means living in a house
with a wife.”

Three words in this verse are very significant—u ha vdva. These
words are used to express wonder. Priyavrata Maharaja had taken a vow
of renunciation, but accepting a wife and begetting children have
nothing to do with the path of renunciation; these are activities on the
path of enjoyment. It was a source of great wonder, therefore, that
Priyavrata Maharaja, who had followed the path of renunciation, had
now accepted the path of enjoyment.

Sometimes we are criticized because although | am a sannyasi, | have
taken part in the marriage ceremonies of my disciples. It must be ex-
plained, however, that since we have started a Krsna conscious society
and since a human society must also have ideal marriages, to correctly es-
tablish an ideal society we must take part in marrying some of its mem-
bers, although we have taken to the path of renunciation. This may be
astonishing to persons who are not very interested in establishing daiva-
vammasrama, the transcendental system of four social orders and four
spiritual orders. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. however.
wanted to reestablish daiva-varndsrama. In daiva-varndsrama there
cannot be acknowledgement of social status according to birthright
