With a gentle humility, the sage began to recount the story of his family: “My wife, thin-breasted from her austerities and steadfast as Arundhatī among women, bore me Śvetaketu, my son—a great ascetic. Śvetaketu is learned in the Vedas and Vedāṅgas, wise in worldly matters, devoted to my teaching, renowned among men, truthful, and compassionate. But as for myself, I am old, my sight is dim, and though I have a wife, I am yet without another son. I am still burdened by ancestral debts, and I have not taken a second wife before. Your wife, O noble one, is of excellent conduct and lineage, fit for bearing offspring. I desire to take her—please forgive me.” Having spoken thus, the elderly, weak-eyed sage, his limbs slack and leaning on a staff, approached the deer-eyed woman who was clad in bark and the black hide of the antelope. Intent on his purpose, the twice-born elder considered her the best among women, though her mind was elsewhere. This occurred, it is said, in the presence of Śvetaketu, before both his mother and father. The brāhmaṇa took the woman by the hand, saying, “Let us go.” At that moment, Śvetaketu, the sage’s son, was seized by anger and indignation. Unable to bear the sight of his mother being led away as if by force, Śvetaketu, whose austerities blazed with power, grasped his mother’s hand and cried out, “Wicked brāhmaṇa, release my mother, who is devoted to her husband! My father is a brahmarṣi, patient and learned in the Veda, capable of both blessing and cursing, steadfast in great vows, and yet he remains silent. My mother, too, is adorned with self-restraint, devoted to her husband, strong in her austerities, and virtuous in conduct. O brāhmaṇa, with care, release my mother, who is as a mother to you.” Though Śvetaketu pleaded again and again, “Release her,” the brāhmaṇa replied calmly, “Śvetaketu, I am old, my sight is weak, and I seek offspring. Your father is freed from debt by you, his son, O Kāśyapa, but I am not yet freed. Old and without desire, who will give me a daughter, a maiden come of age? Release this wife of yours, fit for bearing children, O great ascetic. With only one son I will be satisfied, and I will return your mother to you.” Hearing these words, Śvetaketu, shamed, restrained his anger. Seeing his son’s fury, the father spoke to Śvetaketu: “Do not be angry, my son. This is the eternal law. In ancient times, women of all castes on earth were unrestrained. Just as cows are kept, so too, my son, are women among their own kind; and so, in families, they never acted carelessly. But when the proper season arrives, they do not abandon their husbands.” Yet Śvetaketu could not accept this law. And so, he established a new boundary between man and woman on earth, O illustrious one—among humans, but not among other creatures. From that time onward, it is said that this boundary has remained: from then on, if a wife leaves her husband, it is a sin, as dreadful and joyless as the sin of killing an embryo. Even today, those free from desire and anger still follow this rule. In the northern regions, O renowned Kuru, this ancient law is honored by the great sages. If a man approaches a wife who is a maiden and devoted to chastity, this alone becomes a sin on earth. If a wife, assigned by her husband for the sake of offspring, does not act accordingly, she incurs a great fault. Thus, O gentle one, this boundary was forcibly established in ancient times. By Uddalaka’s son, the righteous Śvetaketu, and by Saudasa, this rule was established regarding the begetting of children. It is heard that Madayanti went to the sage Vasishtha, and from him, O radiant one, she obtained a son named Ashmaka. Thus she acted, wishing to please her husband. You know, O lotus-eyed one, that your own birth is also like this. From Krishna-Dvaipayana, too, O gentle one, for the increase of the Kuru lineage—therefore, considering all these reasons, you should act according to my righteous words, O blameless princess. At the proper season, the husband is the lord of the devoted wife. This is the law, say those who know dharma: it must not be transgressed. At other times, it is said, a woman may have independence. Thus, people speak of this ancient law: whether righteous or unrighteous, O princess, the wife should do as the husband commands. The knowers of the Veda declare: whatever the husband says should be done, especially when he desires a son but is himself unable to beget. Just as I, O faultless one, long to see a son—this one, with red-tipped nails and hands like lotus leaves, O beautiful one. For the sake of pleasing you, O lovely-hipped one, I raise my joined palms to my head. By my command, O fair-haired one, through the ascetic power of a Brahmin, you should produce sons endowed with virtues. For your sake, O broad-hipped one, I would attain the destiny of those who have children.” Thus addressed, Kunti, noble in form and devoted to her husband’s welfare, replied to Pāṇḍu, conqueror of enemy cities: “O best of the Bharatas, it is a great injustice among women that a husband, once pleased, must be pleased again. Hear now, mighty-armed one, what will bring you joy. While still a girl in my father’s house, I was assigned to honor guests.