When Pandu knew about his curse, why did he take his wives with him to the forest?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So if Maharaj Pandu knew that he would die if he contacted his wives, when he renounced the world and went to the forest, why did he take them with him? Actually they requested and they begged him saying that we would like to come with you. And they were also, they said that we would all take precautions.
So that at that time, especially because the curse was involved, so they had all to be careful. But it was not that they were, they are cultured people, all of them. It is not that just lack of sense control would cause them a sudden problem.
So they did take necessary precautions and like that they lived for years together. At one particular point, because of circumstances, Maharaj Pandu got agitated. At that time also, mother had to actually push him away.
But he was too excited at that time. So essentially the principle of the husband and wife, unless they, living together is not necessarily for sexual purposes alone. Although that is an important point for getting progeny and all that.
But they were devoted wives, they were young. And if he renounced the world and went, they were practically widows. So that would be a bereaved state and just as Sita insisted with Ram that I will come with you to the forest.
So Pandu’s wife also insisted that we will come with you to the forest. And Pandu, he did not blame them. He knew that there was a danger for him.
But the point of going to the forest was not just to go away from his wives. The point of the forest was to renounce the whole royal way of living, which included sexual interactions. So in general, he basically adopted something like the vanaprastha mode of life at that time.
So in vanaprastha, the husband and wife often stay together, but while staying together, they stop sexual interactions. So that was basically he adopted the vanaprastha mode of life and his wife desired to come with him and they decided to assist him and serve him over there. And he agreed to that.
So it’s not that he saw his wife as a source of temptation or trouble. He knew it was his own curse and he felt that he took quite a serious vow at that time. And his wife also said they will help him in observing the vow.
So overall, it was basically moving from one ashram to another. It was actuated by the curse, no doubt, but it was not primarily to avoid the association of his wives. It was basically to give up the material way of living.
That was what its purpose was.