Bhagavad Gita 1.40

adharmābhibhavāt kṛṣṇa
praduṣyanti kula-striyaḥ
strīṣu duṣṭāsu vārṣṇeya
jāyate varṇa-saṅkaraḥ

Translation

When irreligion is prominent in the family, O Kṛṣṇa, the women of the family become polluted, and from the degradation of womanhood, O descendant of Vṛṣṇi, comes unwanted progeny.

Purport

Good population in human society is the basic principle for peace, prosperity and spiritual progress in life. The varṇāśrama religion’s principles were so designed that the good population would prevail in society for the general spiritual progress of state and community. Such population depends on the chastity and faithfulness of its womanhood. As children are very prone to be misled, women are similarly very prone to degradation. Therefore, both children and women require protection by the elder members of the family. By being engaged in various religious practices, women will not be misled into adultery. According to Cāṇakya Paṇḍita, women are generally not very intelligent and therefore not trustworthy. So the different family traditions of religious activities should always engage them, and thus their chastity and devotion will give birth to a good population eligible for participating in the varṇāśrama system. On the failure of such varṇāśrama-dharma, naturally the women become free to act and mix with men, and thus adultery is indulged in at the risk of unwanted population. Irresponsible men also provoke adultery in society, and thus unwanted children flood the human race at the risk of war and pestilence.

Ś.B 1.8.5

sādhayitvājāta-śatroḥ
svaṁ rājyaṁ kitavair hṛtam
ghātayitvāsato rājñaḥ
kaca-sparśa-kṣatāyuṣaḥ

Translation

The clever Duryodhana and his party cunningly usurped the kingdom of Yudhiṣṭhira, who had no enemy. By the grace of the Lord, the recovery was executed, and the unscrupulous kings who joined with Duryodhana were killed by Him. Others also died, their duration of life having decreased for their rough handling of the hair of Queen Draupadī.

Purport

In the glorious days, or before the advent of the Age of Kali, the brāhmaṇas, the cows, the women, the children and the old men were properly given protection.

1. The protection of the brāhmaṇas maintains the institution of varṇa and āśrama, the most scientific culture for attainment of spiritual life.

2. The protection of cows maintains the most miraculous form of food, i.e., milk, for maintaining the finer tissues of the brain for understanding higher aims of life.

3. The protection of women maintains the chastity of society, by which we can get a good generation for peace, tranquillity and progress of life.

4. The protection of children gives the human form of life its best chance to prepare the way of liberty from material bondage. Such protection of children begins from the very day of begetting a child by the purificatory process of garbhādhāna-saṁskāra, the beginning of pure life.

5. The protection of the old men gives them a chance to prepare themselves for better life after death.

This complete outlook is based on factors leading to successful humanity as against the civilization of polished cats and dogs. The killing of the above-mentioned innocent creatures is totally forbidden because even by insulting them one loses one’s duration of life. In the Age of Kali they are not properly protected, and therefore the duration of life of the present generation has shortened considerably. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated that when the women become unchaste for want of proper protection, there are unwanted children called varṇa-saṅkara. To insult a chaste woman means to bring about disaster in the duration of life. Duḥśāsana, a brother of Duryodhana, insulted Draupadī, an ideal chaste lady, and therefore the miscreants died untimely. These are some of the stringent laws of the Lord mentioned above.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Preaching to America: Part 1

Devotee: “Her chastity was her great virtue. But nowadays that is no longer true.”

Prabhupāda: “Nowadays may be different, but I am speaking the Vedic idea. That’s all. In all circumstances, unless her husband is crazy or something like that – mad – in every case, the wife is faithful and subservient to the husband. Even the husband goes out of home, vānaprastha, the wife also goes with him. When he takes sannyāsa, at that time there is no accompanying of wife. Otherwise, in gṛhastha life and even vānaprastha life, the wife is the constant companion and subservient. Gāndhārī – her husband was blind. So when the marriage settlement was done, she was not blind, but she voluntarily became blind by wrapping cloth over her eyes. There are instances in the Vedic literature. The wife remains always faithful and subservient to the husband. That is her perfection. The Americans may not like this idea, but that is a different thing.”

Chastity of Sukanya

ŚB 9.3.22

evaṁ bruvāṇaṁ pitaraṁ
smayamānā śuci-smitā
uvāca tāta jāmātā
tavaiṣa bhṛgu-nandanaḥ

Translation

Sukanyā, however, being very proud of her chastity, smiled upon hearing the rebukes of her father. She smilingly told him, “My dear father, this young man by my side is your actual son-in-law, the great sage Cyavana, who was born in the family of Bhṛgu.”

Purport

Although the father chastised the daughter, assuming that she had accepted another husband, the daughter knew that she was completely honest and chaste, and therefore she was smiling. When she explained that her husband, Cyavana Muni, had now been transformed into a young man, she was very proud of her chastity, and thus she smiled as she talked with her father.

Ideal Family Man Book