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Garuda Purana 1.115.64

”A barren woman shall be abandoned in the eighth year after marriage; a woman whose children die in infancy shall be abandoned in the ninth year; a woman who gives birth only to daughters shall be abandoned in the eleventh year and a woman who speaks unpleasant words shall be abandoned immediately.”

Yajnavalkya Smriti verse 73

The liquor drinker, the diseased, the cunning, the barren, the killer of wealth, the unpleasant spoken, who bears female children should be superseded, so also (one) who hates people.

Manu Smriti 9.81

A barren wife may be superseded in the eighth year, she whose children (all) die in the tenth, she who bears only daughters in the eleventh, but she who is quarrelsome without delay.

Narada Smriti 12.94

Let not a husband show love to a barren woman, or to one who gives birth to female children only, or whose conduct is blamable, or who constantly contradicts him; if he does (have conjugal intercourse with her), he becomes liable to censure (himself).

Satapatha Brahmana 5.3.1.13

And on the following day he goes to the house of a discarded (wife), and prepares a pap for Nirriti;–a discarded wife is one who has no son…hail!’ For a wife that is without a son, is possessed with Nirriti (destruction, calamity)…

Devi Bhagavatam 2.6.36-48

Once while he was listening to the religious discourses of the Munis, he heard unmistakeably the Munis telling that the man who is sonless can never go to the Heavens; so he must get a son somehow or other

Devi Bhagavatam 1.4.15-27

There is no prospect in the after birth of the sonless; never, never will Heaven be his. Without son, there is none other who can be of help in the next world. Thus in the Dharma S’âstras, Manu and other Munis declare that the man who has sons goes to Heaven and the sonless one can never go to Heaven. The man possessing a son is entitled to the Heavenly pleasures can be vividly seen, rather than imagined. The man with son is freed from sins; this is the word of the Vedas…

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    a similar question was recently posted.. i don't think discarded means to 'throw away', but superseded meaning taking another wife, for reason of begetting a son, because gotra is continued only through son, not daughter, only son can perform tarpana/shraddha – ram Jun 14 '17 at 19:24
  • @ram your post is nice, but what do you say for Devi bhagavatam which says sonless never go to heaven and Naradha smriti which says men shouldn't love sonless women? – Hindu Jun 14 '17 at 19:30
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    @Hindu, yes, the very word 'putra' means 'putat-trayate' - one who saves you from the naraka called 'put'.. – ram Jun 14 '17 at 19:37
  • @ram please elaborate – Hindu Jun 15 '17 at 03:02
  • @Aghori https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/manusmriti-with-the-commentary-of-medhatithi/d/doc201440.html – Hindu Jun 15 '17 at 03:16
  • @@Hindu It does not seem to me that you have studied all these scriptures yourself. If u are copying from a site then can u mention which is that site? – Rickross Jun 15 '17 at 05:54
  • @Rickross https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/manusmriti-with-the-commentary-of-medhatithi/d/doc201440.html – Hindu Jun 15 '17 at 06:07
  • @TheDestroyer Answers through comment is also welcomed. – Hindu Jun 15 '17 at 06:21
  • @Hindu What about the others? Garuda Purana, Devi Bhagavatam, etc? Where u got them from? It seems to me you are collecting all quotes from one single website. So can u tell me which website is that? – Rickross Jun 17 '17 at 06:25

1 Answers1

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No. It's not true. No Hindu scriptures say sonless women must be abandoned or can be abandoned .This is just a wrong translation of the verses. These verses do not mean abandoning , discarding , suspending of women or wife. Let's see how.

The verses you have mentioned are:

Shounka counsels on forswearing bad wives in Verse 64, Achara Kanda, Chapter 115 of Garuda Purana (शौनकोक्तनीतिसारनिरूपणं).

त्यजेद्वन्धामष्टेsब्दे नवमे तुं मृतप्रजाम् |
एकादशे स्त्रीजननीं सद्यच्श्राप्रियवदिनिम् ||६४||

A man is at liberty to marry a second wife in the event of his first having had no issue after eight years of wedlock ; after nine years of that of one whose children die in their infancy ; after eleven years of the marriage a wife that has given birth to daughters only , and when the first is foul-mouthed and to give him a bit of her mind.

Now let's look at this verse. Firstly, it says, a man can marry second wife , (start of if condition) verse states conditions. It is known and it is quite good belief in our society that a son only can liberate his parents. So, other part of verse is only for those who want a son, and only if their first wife failed to deliver son. This does not mean, they are free to have a second wife as they wish, but also when first wife failed to deliver children or when children die in their infancy.

It does not say anything about discarding or abandoning first wife anywhere. Now the last part tells us that , one can marry a second wife instantly if first wife is foul-mouthed or if she speaks unpleasantly , again providing a condition.

So Garuda Purana verse does not in any way permits abandoning , discarding , suspending of women.

Now look at the Manu Smiriti verse , translated by G. Bhular. Sanskrit Documents site.

वन्ध्याष्टमे अधिवेद्या च प्रतिकूला च् या भवेत् |
व्याधिता वा-अधिवेत्तव्या हिंस्त्रा-अर्थघ्नि च सर्वदा ||९.८१||

A barren wife may be superseded in the eight year ( by another wife ) she whose children (all) , she who bears daughter in the eleventh , but she who is quarrelsome without delay.

Again, Manu-Smiriti doesn't say abandoning , discarding , suspending. It says “superseded” means to replace in power, authority, effectiveness and acceptance.

Now look at the Yajnavalkya Smriti verse 73 Yajnavalkya Smriti verse 73

सुरापी व्याधिता धूर्ता वन्ध्यार्थघ्नप्रियंवदा |
स्त्रीप्रसूच्श्राधिवेतव्या पुरुषद्वेषिणि तथा ||७३||

A man can resort to polygamy if his wife is drunkard , a patient of incurable disease , shrewd , barren spendthrift , bitter mouth , delivering girl children and envying her husband continuously .

Yajnavalkya Smriti also does not say anything about abandoning , discarding , suspending of women. here.

So, from analyzing verses from two Smritis and one Purana , we can surely say that this is translation and interpretation problem.

No Hindu Scripture says a barren woman shall be abandoned. What you mentioned in questions is wrong translation or wrong interpretation. 

Garuda Purana shloka

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Yajnavalkya Smriti shlokaenter image description here
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Manu smiriti shloka.
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  • Nice. This is really a great answer.Then I want meaning of Narada Smriti 10.94, and Explanation for Devi Bhagavatam which says sonless man never go to heaven?? – Hindu Jun 15 '17 at 05:13
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    @Hindu Devi Bhagavatam doesn't say about abandoning wives. It only says about sons. Given context of this answer and your question, those verses are not important. – The Destroyer Jun 15 '17 at 07:06
  • @TheDestroyer My question is why it is so? – Hindu Jun 15 '17 at 07:15
  • @Hindu Devi Bhagvatam doesn't talk about wives. They are not related to abandoning of wives. – The Destroyer Jun 15 '17 at 07:34
  • @TheDestroyer Then, can I get explanation of Narada smriti 12.94? – Hindu Jun 15 '17 at 11:04
  • @Hindu - i will try to provide it.in some time – SwiftPushkar Jun 15 '17 at 11:14
  • @SwiftPushkar My question here is if sonless never go to heaven, then it means Sanyasis also never go to heaven? – Hindu Jun 15 '17 at 14:08
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    @Hindu- A true Sanyasi gets MOKSHA , which is above heaven. – SwiftPushkar Jun 15 '17 at 14:38
  • @SwiftPushkar Here in Brahma Vaivartha Purana, Ganesh Khanda chapter 2 verse 24 also says Sonless woman is useless.

    http://www.indianscriptures.com/scriptures/puranas-18-puranas-mahapurana/brahmavaivarta-purana/vol-i/chapter-99/topic-1

     – Hindu Jun 19 '17 at 04:19
  • It is always in the interpretation that result in inequality and injustice. In Rig Veda the varnashramas are mentioned, but nowhere has it prohibited marriage between the varnas. Initially a person's varna was occupation based and as in any social set-up son succeeded father, this led to the caste system instead of Varna system as prescribed by Rig Veda. And the hardening stance, came in due course, where if a man married a woman of lower varna, the children would inherit the father's varna, but a woman marrying below would result in the child almost being outcast. Same for discarding wives. – Suresh Ramaswamy Aug 13 '17 at 06:35
  • @SureshRamaswamy - Yes , you are correct ,these are deliberate attempt 's by some forces to demean our scripture , especially vedas. But most claims simply and easily can be refuted . – SwiftPushkar Aug 13 '17 at 06:41
  • @SwiftPushkar This cannot be for all Humans, this is only for kings because only if son born to a king, their lineage will grow. –  Sep 04 '17 at 04:33
  • I think this verse is not specifically for Royals. And pretty general .Because everybody wants their lineage to continue further without interruption. But yes for welfare of State , a able son to Kings is must. – SwiftPushkar Sep 04 '17 at 07:18