The Kural · Chapter
XV: Non-Desiring of Another Man’s Wife explained
This chapter extols the virtue of refraining from desiring another man's wife, emphasizing the moral and social ruin that follows adultery.
What happens
This chapter extols the virtue of refraining from desiring another man's wife, emphasizing the moral and social ruin that follows adultery. It contrasts the righteous householder who avoids such temptation with the fool who invites hatred, sin, fear, and shame.
Themes in this chapter
Virtue and Righteousness
The chapter condemns adultery as a fall from virtue and praises those who uphold righteousness by not coveting another's wife.
Social Harmony and Ethics
Desiring another man's wife is portrayed as a threat to social trust and family integrity, leading to hatred and shame.
Family Life and Duty
The righteous householder is defined by his fidelity and restraint, upholding the duties of married life.
Characters to notice
- Thiruvalluvar
Author of the Kural verses on marital fidelity and righteousness.
- the Kural
The text itself, containing the moral teachings of this chapter.
Key passages
“Behold the men whose eyes are turned towards righteousness and towards wealth: they commit not the folly of desiring another man’s wife.”
Those who seek virtue and prosperity wisely avoid the mistake of coveting another's spouse.
Opening couplet linking righteousness and wealth to marital fidelity.
“Among those that have fallen from virtue there is no greater fool than he that standeth at his neighbour’s threshold.”
The worst kind of sinner is the one who trespasses into a neighbor's home for adultery.
Emphasizes the severity of adultery among moral failings.
“Verily they are in the jaws of death who invade the home of an unsuspecting friend.”
Those who betray a friend's trust by entering his home for illicit purposes face destruction.
Metaphor of death for the adulterer's fate.
“The adulterer knoweth no respite from four things, hatred, sin, fear, and shame.”
An adulterer constantly suffers from hatred, sin, fear, and shame without relief.
Lists the fourfold torment of the unfaithful.
“Though thou shouldst transgress and yield to every other sin, it were well for thee if thou desire not thy neighbour’s wife.”
Even if you commit all other sins, avoiding desire for your neighbor's wife is still beneficial.
Final couplet underscoring the paramount importance of this prohibition.