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The wife is generally treated with
great consideration in Kural. But the following verses deprecate wife-rule as a certain
cause of weakness and disgrace for rulers and men of action. Feminists should not be upset
by things said in so old a book as Kural. Wife-domineered statesmen hardly command respect
or confidence even in modern times. What is condemned here is the domination of the
husband's judgment by the wife, and not love and mutual respect between husband and wife.
The first two verses condemn excessive attachment, which curbs the heroism and the spirit
of adventure, on which depends the success of men of action.
Inordinate attachment to one's wife is not
only an impediment to the attainment of spirituality. Even in the -world of action it is
to be avoided.
Again, he who neglects his duties on
account of his attachment to his wife will find himself overwhelmed by public scandal.
Such attachment does not matter in the case
of insignificant men, but becomes a scandal in men holding public positions.
Author - C.Raja Gopalachari
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