SB 7.12.9 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

नन्वग्नि: प्रमदा नाम घृतकुम्भसम: पुमान् । सुतामपि रहो जह्यादन्यदा यावदर्थकृत् ॥ ९ ॥

Verse text

nanv agniḥ pramadā nāma ghṛta-kumbha-samaḥ pumān sutām api raho jahyād anyadā yāvad-artha-kṛt

Synonyms

nanu — certainly ; agniḥ — the fire ; pramadā — the woman (one who bewilders the mind of man) ; nāma — the very name ; ghṛta — kumbha — a pot of butter ; samaḥ — like ; pumān — a man ; sutām api — even one’s daughter ; rahaḥ — in a secluded place ; jahyāt — one must not associate with ; anyadā — with other women also ; yāvat — as much as ; artha — kṛt — required .

Translation

Woman is compared to fire, and man is compared to a butter pot. Therefore a man should avoid associating even with his own daughter in a secluded place. Similarly, he should also avoid association with other women. One should associate with women only for important business and not otherwise.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Woman is compared to fire and man is compared to a butter pot. Therefore a man should avoid associating even with his own daughter in a secluded place. One should associate with women only for important business, even if one is not alone. The reason for the rule is given in this verse. Rahaḥ means alone. Anyadā means in other circumstances, even if not alone. Even if not alone one should associate with women only when necessary to fulfill certain goals, and only for that long.

Purport

If a butter pot and fire are kept together, the butter within the pot will certainly melt. Woman is compared to fire, and man is compared to a butter pot. However advanced one may be in restraining the senses, it is almost impossible for a man to keep himself controlled in the presence of a woman, even if she is his own daughter, mother or sister. Indeed, his mind is agitated even if one is in the renounced order of life. Therefore, Vedic civilization carefully restricts mingling between men and women. If one cannot understand the basic principle of restraining association between man and woman, he is to be considered an animal. That is the purport of this verse.