Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 117: Anasūyā Instructs Sītā About Strī-dharma
Text 2.117.25
न त्वेवमवगच्छन्ति गुणदोषमसत्स्त्रियः।
कामवक्तव्यहृदया भर्तृनाथाश्चरन्ति याः॥
na tv evam avagacchanti guṇa-doṣam asat-striyaḥ
kāma-vaktavya-hṛdayā bhartṛ-nāthāś caranti yāḥ
na tu = do not; evam = in this manner; avagacchanti = understand; guṇa-doṣam = what is piety and what is impiety; asat-striyaḥ = evil women; kāma-vaktavya-hṛdayāḥ = whose hearts are overwhelmed with lusty desires; bhartṛ-nāthāḥ = lording over their husbands; caranti = wander about; yāḥ = and who.
“Evil women whose hearts are overwhelmed with lusty desires and who wander about lording over their husbands do not understand what is piety and what is impiety in this manner.
1 Rāmāyaṇa-bhūṣaṇa: bhartāraṁ nāthante yācanta iti tathā para-puruṣa-kāṅkṣiṇyaḥ.
Bhartṛ-nāthāḥ indicates that these evil women control their husbands. It also indicates that they hanker for other men who could function as their husbands.1
GLOSS. Kāma-vaktavya-hṛdayāḥ indicates that these evil women speak to their husbands as they like.