Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 10 - Chapter 1 - Verse 43-44

Sanskrit:

नासां द्विजातिसंस्कारो न निवासो गुरावपि ।न तपो नात्ममीमांसा न शौचं न क्रिया: शुभा: ॥ ४३ ॥तथापि ह्युत्तम:श्लोके कृष्णे योगेश्वरेश्वरे ।भक्तिर्दृढा न चास्माकं संस्कारादिमतामपि ॥ ४४ ॥

ITRANS:

nāsāṁ dvijāti-saṁskārona nivāso gurāv apina tapo nātma-mīmāṁsāna śaucaṁ na kriyāḥ śubhāḥ

Translation:

These women have never undergone the purificatory rites of the twice-born classes, nor have they lived as brahmacārīs in the āśrama of a spiritual master, nor have they executed austerities, speculated on the nature of the self, followed the formalities of cleanliness or engaged in pious rituals. Nevertheless, they have firm devotion for Lord Kṛṣṇa, whose glories are chanted by the exalted hymns of the Vedas and who is the supreme master of all masters of mystic power. We, on the other hand, have no such devotion for the Lord, although we have executed all these processes.

Purport:

According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, the husbands were not aware that their wives had occasionally associated with residents of Vṛndāvana, such as the flower ladies, and had heard about the beauty and qualities of Kṛṣṇa. The brāhmaṇas were astonished at their wives’ loving devotion for Lord Kṛṣṇa, not realizing that this devotion had developed as a result of hearing and chanting about the Lord in the association of His pure devotees.