Devanagari
प्रायश: प्राकृताश्चापि स्त्रियं रहसि बिभ्रति ।
अयं महाव्रतधरो बिभर्ति सदसि स्त्रियम् ॥ ८ ॥
Verse text
prāyaśaḥ prākṛtāś cāpi
striyaṁ rahasi bibhrati
ayaṁ mahā-vrata-dharo
bibharti sadasi striyam
Synonyms
prāyaśaḥ
—
generally
;
prākṛtāḥ
—
conditioned souls
;
ca
—
also
;
api
—
although
;
striyam
—
a woman
;
rahasi
—
in a solitary place
;
bibhrati
—
embrace
;
ayam
—
this (Lord Śiva)
;
mahā
—
vrata — dharaḥ — the master of great vows and austerities
;
bibharti
—
enjoys
;
sadasi
—
in an assembly of great saintly persons
;
striyam
—
his wife .
Translation
Ordinary conditioned persons generally embrace their wives and enjoy their company in solitary places. How wonderful it is that Lord Mahādeva, although a great master of austerity, is embracing his wife openly in the midst of an assembly of great saints.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Ordinary conditioned persons generally embrace their wives in private. This man of great vows is embracing his wife in the assembly of great saints.
Mahā-vrata-dharaḥ means a brahmacārī from birth, a leader of yogīs. That he was embracing his wife shows his inconceivable power.
Purport
The word
mahā-vrata-dharaḥ
indicates a
brahmacārī
who has never fallen down. Lord Śiva is counted among the best of
yogīs,
yet he embraced his wife in the midst of great saintly persons. Citraketu appreciated how great Lord Śiva was to be unaffected even in that situation. Therefore Citraketu was not an offender; he merely expressed his wonder.