Shloka : 135

गृहाख्याश्रमिणो ये स्यु: पुरु़षा मदुपाश्रिता: ।

स्वासन्नसम्बन्धहीना न स्पृश्या विधवाश्च तै: ॥ 135 ॥

હવે ગૃહસ્થાશ્રમીના જે વિશેષ ધર્મ છે તે કહીએ છીએ: અમારે આશ્રિત જે ગૃહસ્થાશ્રમી પુરુષ, તેમણે પોતાના સમીપસંબંધ વિનાની જે વિધવા સ્ત્રીઓ તેમનો સ્પર્શ ન કરવો. ॥ 135 ॥

Now, I explain specific code of conduct for the Grihastha i.e. householder devotees; My Grihastha male devotees should not touch the widows who are not close relatives. || 135 ||

Commentary

The Grihastha male devotees of Shri Hari should not touch the widows i.e. whose husband has passed away, who are not close relatives i.e. by whose death Sootak i.e. purification is not required to be performed, and who are distant relatives or not related at all (should not be touched even in a normal or usual way). And they should avoid ridicule, fun, jokes etc. lighthearted behaviour.

If a Grihastha male touches a widow unknowingly, as a penance he should have bath wearing the clothes. Similarly, the widow should have bath wearing the clothes, but if touched knowingly, the widow as well as the Grihastha male, both of them should observe the fast for one day. And if a Grihastha male, out of sexual desire, has touched a lonely widow who is without lust, and nobody knows about it, then the male should observe two consecutive fasts. (The widow should observe only one fast as she is without lust). And if people come to know about this, the male who has touched, should perform 'Chandrayan Vrat' as a penance. (And the widow should observe two consecutive fasts; similarly, if a widow touches a man out of lust, she should perform or made to perform the penance as explained above.)

And a widow, who doesn't have a father or father-in-law, can touch her son-in-low while performing Kanyadaan i.e. a ritual to be performed during wedding ceremony of her daughter; a widowed daughter can touch her father while giving or taking objects from him. During such unavoidable circumstances when there is no ill-intention, it is not an offence to touch the close relatives of either sex. Moreover, while buying or selling things, during flood or fire etc. calamities, it is not an offence if a Grihasth male without sexual desire touches a widow who is without lust and is not a relative.