14 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 6, Ch. 14
TEXT 12
SIGE CDINE CCE OIL Ga aa
APTA Tel: ANT TOMTATTA 1122
ripaudarya-vayo-janma-
vidyaisvarya-sriyadibhih
sampannasya gunaih sarvais
cinta bandhya-pater abhit

ripa—with beauty; audarya—magnanimity; vayah—youth; jan-
ma—aristocratic birth; vidya—education; aisvarya—opulence; Sriya-
adibhih—wealth and so on; sampannasya—endowed; gunaih—with
good qualities; sarvaih—all; cinta—anxiety; bandhya-pateh—of
Citraketu, the husband of so many sterile wives; abhiit—there was.

TRANSLATION

Citraketu, the husband of these millions of wives, was endowed
with a beautiful form, magnanimity and youth. He was born in a
high family, he had a complete education, and he was wealthy and
opulent. Nevertheless, in spite of being endowed with all these
assets, he was full of anxiety because he did not have a son.

PURPORT

It appears that the King first married one wife, but she could not bear
a child. Then he married a second, a third, a fourth and so on, but none
of the wives could bear children. In spite of the material assets of jan-
maisvarya-sruta-sri—birth in an aristocratic family with full opulence,
wealth, education and beauty —he was very much aggrieved because in
spite of having so many wives, he had no son. Certainly his grief was
natural. Grhastha life does not mean having a wife and no children.
Canakya Pandita says, putra-hinam grham sinyam: if a family man has
no son, his home is no better than a desert. The King was certainly most
unhappy that he could not get a son, and this is why he had married so
many times. Ksatriyas especially are allowed to marry more than one
wife, and this King did so. Nonetheless, he had no issue.
