In plain words
Though they have him bitten by snakes, push him off the mountains and torment him with every kind of weapon, he is not moved in the least. He sheds no tears. He does not tremble with fear. What is this marvel? It is beyond us, they said. This emperor told them to instruct him even in the matters of husband and wife, though he was a very small boy. Prahlāda saw this, gathered his fellow students, and went on telling them fine stories. Children! 'Of all the stories Nārada taught me, one comes to my mind now,' he said. A king had many wives. Unable to bear the quarrels of the co-wives, he was forever full of worry. A doubt came to him: is there anyone in this world who has no worry from a wife? One day, to test such people in his kingdom, he had two big pandals put up. Seeing that it was impossible for each person to reason this out and say, he had two boards set up: on one pandal, 'Those who are subject to their wives must sit here,' and 'Those who have subdued their wives must sit in this pandal.' People heard this news. Thinking that if they behaved with Asatya before the king they would be punished, everyone went and sat in the pandal of those subject to their wives. Their number grew moment by moment. Not one person was coming into the second pandal. As he was watching this way, one man came and sat in the pandal of those who had subdued their wives. The king was very pleased. That there was at least one such man in his kingdom! He went up to him and asked very respectfully, 'Sir! Are you one who is subject to his wife, or one who has subdued his wife? Tell me the truth.' 'Great King! I never speak Asatya. I am speaking only the truth: I am subject to my wife,' he said. 'Then why have you come into this pandal? You could have gone into that pandal, could you not?' he said. 'Whatever command you give, I will not move from here,' he said. 'Why do you behave so foolishly?' the king said, a little angrily. Then the man said, 'As I was setting out from home, my wife gave me an order. You must not be in the pandal where everyone is. Go and stand in the pandal where there is no one, she said. So I will defy even your command and give even my life, but I cannot defy my wife's command,' he said. That is, the master called the Manas has many wives called the senses, and so the Manas has fallen under the power of these wives, the senses: that is its meaning.