There is a difference between the understanding of a male and that of a female.
“One day while travelling, Citraketu wandered into the bowers of Sumeru Mountain, where he came upon Lord Shiva embracing Parvati, surrounded by an assembly of Siddhas, Caranas and great sages. Seeing Lord Shiva in that situation, Citraketu laughed very loudly, but Parvati became very angry at him and cursed him. Lord Shiva told Parvati, “”Both Citraketu and I are always very dear to the Supreme Lord. In other words, both he and I are on the same level as servants of the Lord. We are always friends, and sometimes we enjoy joking words between us. When Citraketu loudly laughed at my behavior, he did so on friendly terms, and therefore there was no reason to curse him.”” Thus Lord Shiva tried to convince his wife, Parvati, that her cursing of Citraketu was not very sensible.
Here is a difference between male and female that exists even in the higher statuses of life–in fact, even between Lord Shiva and his wife. Lord Shiva could understand Citraketu very nicely, but Parvati could not.
Thus even in the higher statuses of life there is a difference between the understanding of a male and that of a female. It may be clearly said that the understanding of a woman is always inferior to the understanding of a man. In the Western countries there is now agitation to the effect that man and woman should be considered equal, but from this verse it appears that woman is always less intelligent than man. It is clear that Citraketu wanted to criticize the behavior of his friend Lord Shiva because Lord Shiva was sitting with his wife on his lap. Then, too, Lord Shiva wanted to criticize Citraketu for externally posing as a great devotee but being interested in enjoying with the Vidyadhari women. These were all friendly jokes; there was nothing serious for which Citraketu should have been cursed by Parvati. Upon hearing the instructions of Lord Shiva, Parvati must have been very much ashamed for cursing Citraketu to become a demon. Mother Parvati could not appreciate Citraketu’s position, and therefore she cursed him, but when she understood the instructions of Lord Shiva she was ashamed.”
Source: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (2014 edition), “Srimad Bhagavatam”, Sixth Canto, Chapter 17 – introduction and Text 35
